
Class _SX'^Q( 

Book . G: 6 

Copyright }^° 



COPYRIGHT DEPOSm 



LIFE OF JESUS 



AND 



HIS APOSTLES 



BY 

REV. W. B. QODBEY, 

Author of Holiness or Hell, Jesus is Coming, Sancti- 

flcation, Christian Perfection, New Testament 

Commentaries, Etc. 



PENTECOSTAL PUB. CO., 
Louisville, Ky. 



LIBRARY nf OONGRESS 


Two Gooses Received 


AUG 2 1904 


Ooovpfsrht Efitrv 


ptU 1^1^ 1 era i^ 


CLAS^ (K. XXc. No. 


' COPY B 






Copyrighted by 
Pentecostal Publishing Co, 
1904. 



CONTENTS: 

PAGE. 

Abbreviations 5 

Prologue 7 

CHAPTER 1, 
The Pee-Xatal Savior 17 

CHAPTER II. 
The Infant Jesus 21 

CHAPTER III. 
The 3Ian Jesus 35 

CHAPTER IV. 
The Ministry of Jesus 41 

CHAPTER Y. 
Jesus Preaching in Galilee 51 

CHAPTER YI. 
Jesus Preaches Among the Gentiles 157 

CHAPTER YII. 
The Transfiguration 169 

CHAPTER YIII. 
Jesus Preaches in Jerusalem 180 

CHAPTER IX. 
Jesus Preaches in Perea 201 



CHAPTER X. 

TiiRiLLixG Events Facilitatixg the Eixale. . . 242 



ny 



CHAPTER XI. 
Fakewell to the Temple 264: 

CHAPTEE Xn. 
JuDGMEXT Sermox OX Mt. Olivet 283 

CHAPTEE XIII. 
The Valedictoky Sekmox axd Peayeh 307 

CHAPTEE XVI. 
Descexsiox Into Hades 394 

CHAPTEE XVII. 
The Eesukkectiox -iO? 

CHAPTEE XVIII. 

AscEXsiox Ixto Heaven -125 

CHAPTEE XIX. 
The Apostles 432 



ABBEEVIATIONS. 

B. C— Before Christ. A. D.— After Christ. 

0. T.— Old Testament. X. T.— ^STew Testament. 

X. B.— Take Xotice. D. V.— God Willing. 

E. V. — English Version. E. V. — Eevised Version 

Gr. — Greek, e. g. — For example, i. e. — That is. . 

V. — Averse, ch. — Chapter. 



PROLOaUE. 

Eph. 1 and Col. 1, reveal the Second person of the 
Trinity as the Creator of "all things visible and invisi- 
ble/"^ while Heb. 1 sets Him forth as the Creator of the 
ages (E. Y., words). Hence we see that the Divinity 
executes the work of creation in the second person. 
The above^ with many other scriptures^ reveals the co- 
eternity of the Son with the Father. In all our medi- 
tations and apprehensions of the Divinity we must steer 
clear of the tritheistic heresy ; i. e.^ separating too widely 
between the persons of the God-head^ thus digressing 
into the idea of three Gods instead of one. While the 
Son, our Savior^ has existed from the beginnings having 
tossed millions of worlds from his creative fingers^ mean- 
while the "morning stars sang together^ and sons of God 
shouted for joj/^ and the redemption of this fallen 
world with its inhabitants was a stupendous reality in 
the divine mind from all eternity, and really efficient 
from the fall and the days of Abel; deep and unfath- 
omable reasons for the postponement of the Divine incli- 
nation^ the grand^ salient ostensible fact of the redemp- 
tive scheme supervened through the rolling centuries. A 
mention of the more prominent will be edifying to the 
readers. 

1. The trend of fallen humanity to go away from 
God into the labyrinthine entanglements of polytheistic 
idolatry became prominent from the mournful exodus 
out of Eden; the fratricidal came, leading the way into 
the worship of the sun. which is manifest in the blood- 



8 Life of Jesus and His Apostles. 

less offering of fruits and flowers. Baal^ the sun-god. 
tJius led the way^, being worshiped in Egypt under the 
name of Osiris^ and the moon under the name of Isus; 
and as Ashtaroth^ of Phenecia^ also called the queen 
of Heaven. In the Bible^ Baalbec^ en the plain of Baca^ 
between the great mountains^Lebanon and Anti-lebanon^ 
has been the wonder of the world in all ages. This day. 
the oriental traveler halts bewildered and spellbound 
as he contemplates the mighty works of Baalbec, which 
beggar and throw into eclipse all the boasted achieve- 
ments of modern arts and science^ there being no me- 
chanical power on the earth to-day competent to erect 
the Temples of Sun and Jupiter and the gigantic walls 
of the citadel protecting them^ with their golden images 
and accumulated treasure^ from the continental armies 
from the east and sea pirates from the west. 

Tradition corroborates the Bible in the identifica- 
tion of this stupendous superstructure with the city 
built by Cain in the Land of K'od^ as the antideluvian 
outliving us ten times^ were in all probability 
ten times our superior in physical strength^ al- 
so utilizing the mastodon^ an animal about ten 
times as large as the elephant^ which abounded before 
the floods but never lived afterward. The constant 
trend of Israel to depart from Jehovah^ the unseen G-.od, 
and go after the wonderful display of pomp and ]3agean- 
try which characterize Baal^ is obvious when we remem- 
ber that Baalbec^ the Capital and Metropolis of this^ the 
most popular divinity ever worshiped by the children 
of men, was right there within the territory given by 
Jehovah to Israel, but never subdued and occupied. Be- 
sides, the priests of Baal had the glowing sun with his 



Prologue. 9 

unutterable splendor, beauty and glory ;, rolling his Jdery 
chariot from Aurora to Hesperus every day^ adorning 
the landscape ^vith fadeless flowers and burdening the 
field with delicious fruits. When we consider the over- 
whelming predilection of fallen humanity for idolatry, 
and how exceedingly difficult for the great Jehovah to 
retain even a little handful of people on the earth so true 
to Him that he could make them the custodians of the 
heavenly oracles and the progenitors of the world^s 
Savior^ we see the pertinency of letting pagan polytheism 
have the fields do her best and run her race^ in the final 
exhibiting to the world in her deserted temples and smol- 
dering ruins^ her utter incompetency to satisfy the long- 
ings of her immortal soul or to solve the problem of hu- 
man origin^ character and destiny. All this actually 
took place. Baal^ Ashtaroth^ Dagon^ Moloch^ Jupiter. 
Apollo^ Venus^ Minerva^ and many other gods had the 
world without a rival four thousand years, and signal 
failure^ confusion^ and dissatisfaction everj'where pro- 
claimed their mournful defeat — ^liad utter incompetency 
to elevate the living and comfort the dying. Such vras 
the universal dissatisfaction among all the nations of 
the earthy that expectation had actually supervened in 
every nation^ a general outlook and anticipation that 
the Author of the universe would^ in mercy^ send a De- 
liverer into the world to reveal his truth and righteous- 
ness. When Israel were all carried into captivity, it 
seemed that the last hope of truth and redemption had 
gone down in the gloom of eternal night. But even this 
apparent calamity wrought such a reaction on Israel as 
not only to satisfy them^ but to even disgust them with 
polytheistic idolatry^ so they never. again allowed their 



10 Life of Jesus and His Apostles. 

lifelong predilection to run 'after it^ but remained true 
to the law and the prophets ever after the return from 
Babylonian captivity. 

2. While human learning is not to be rejected^ but 
universally appreciated when sanctified by the grace of 
God ;, j^et it is not only useless but injurious and a swift 
vehicle of damnation without that grace. In every age 
of the world it has beguiled its votaries with pride, and 
arrayed them against the Almight3^ This day it is 
God's greatest enemy on the earth, rapidly filling the 
world with infidelity, sending millions to perdition and 
expediting the great tribulation. Hence it was really 
pertinent that human learning should have clean sweep 
over the world, run its race, reach its culmination and 
fall into dilapidation before the incarnation of God^s Son 
upon the earth. 

All this had actually taken place. The Greek phi- 
losophers had climbed the dizzy heights of Parnassus and, 
drunk to full satiety from the Pyerian fountain. Hon- 
ored were the educators of all the princes of the earth 
who resorted to them from every land, to learn wisdom 
at their feet. Xot only heathen oracles, but the na- 
tions of the globe awarded to them the undisputed palm 
of wisdom. Yet, far from satisfying their patrons and 
pupils, they never could satisfy themselves. Having 
soared on the eloquence of opinions and reveled in the 
sublimities of poetry and romance, living in the pro- 
f oundest depths of philosophy and metaphysics , the sim- 
ple practical questions ? who am I ? whence came I ? and'^ 
what is my destiny? beggared all their boasted wisdom 
and impoverished all their powers of solution. 
Therefore disgusted with themselves and unsat- 



Prologue. 11 

isfied with their thirty thousand gods, amid 
their magnificent array of temples and statues, 
they wore so suspicious that there might be a God 
somewhere in the universe, with whom tliey had no 
acquaintance that they actually erected to him a beau- 
tiful marble shrine in the metropolis^ on which they 
superscribed, "to the unknown God/^ Consequently 
when Paul met the grave assembly of philosophers on 
the Areopagus, he opened his sermon by pronouncing 
them "very religious,^^ (not too superstitious) as, E. V. 
he reminds them of the temple they had built to the 
unknown God, assuring them that he is acquainted with 
Him, and proceeds to tell them about Him. Thus hu- 
man learning, without a rival in all the world, had gone 
to the acme, signally failed to solve the grand problem 
of human immortality, origin and destiny, was actually 
on the wane, when the glorious solution of all problems 
burst upon the world. 

3. The Language Problem. From the confusion of 
tongues at the tower of Babel, the world had been filled 
with . a countless medley of dialects, shibboleths and 
idiocisms, so the person passing along the insignificant 
boundary of his own tribe, found himself at once con- 
founded with an unknown tongue. This state of things 
was an impassable barrier to the speedy evangelization 
of the world. It was not only indispensable that the na- 
tions be reached by a common language,but pre-eminent- 
ly essential was the writing of the Divine oracles, char- 
acteristic of the gospel dispensation in the very best pos- 
sible revelation, at once pre-eminent in brevity, vivacity, 
flexibility, copiousness, communicativeness and the iron 
grip of a stubborn and stalwart mechanism, which would 



12 Life of Jesus and His Apostles. 

forever doom all attempts to perversion, and misinter- 
pretation, this glorious vehicle of gospel wisdom and 
grace, God in His merciful presence, gave the world in 
the beautiful, inimitable Greek language. While all na- 
tions in the absence of the written word were wrapped in 
darkness and groveling in superstition, we see a paradox 
in all historj^, i. e., the Greeks with no better opportunity 
than the other nations, bid the world adieu and rise to 
the top of civilization, in poetry, oratory, philosophy 
and the fine arts, eclipsing all their contemporaries, and 
sitting down upon thrones of wisdom and culture, pat- 
ronized by the princes of the earth, seeking erudition, 
light and knowledge at their feet. The result of their 
wonderful achievements, in ever)^ ramification of human 
lore, was the manufacture of the finest language that 
ever rang in mortal ears. We are delighted with our 
noble ^English, with its one hundred and fifty thousand 
words ; yet it would have been a great misfortune if the 
scriptures had been written in our language or any other 
modern tongue, as they have no mechanical grammar, 
and are loosely thrown together at the option of the 
writer. The Greek language is as mechanical as a pipe 
organ, which will only make music when every piece is 
in its place. A necessary corollary of this lingual ad- 
justment of the world to the propagation of the Gospel, 
was the conquest of all nations by the Greeks, the trans- 
mission of every government under heaven into their 
hands and thereby the establishment of their language in 
every court beneath the skies.- But how can this be^ 
when, at that time, Persia ruled all the w^orld, her one 
hundred and twenty-seven provinces, extending from 
India to Ethiopia, with a single exception of the Greeks. 



'Prologue. 13 

who, though invaded with an army of two million five 
hundred thousand, led by Xerxes in person, she had sig- 
nally failed to conquer? In the solution of this prob- 
leni;, we behold a series of unrecorded miracles. The 
youthful Alexander of twenty-one years, with an army of 
thirt3^-five thousand dares to invade the Persian empire ; 
meets the royal army on the battlefield Granicus, slays 
four thousand and loses not a man. Then he meets an 
innumerable one on the plains of Issus. A terrible battle 
is fought. One hundred thousand Persian soldiers are 
left dead on the field; Alexander's loss is the merest 
trifle. The whole empire is dazed and appalled by Al- 
exander's victories. Universal preparations were made 
to exterminate from the empire the haughtj' Greek. 
Darius, in person, heads the innu<merable host gathered 
from his one hundred and twent}-seven nations. They 
overtake and attack the Greeks on the plains of Arbela. 
The battle lasts a week. Three hundred thousand Per- 
sian soldiers are left dead on the field. Among them 
the royalty of every nation have fallen. Darius, the 
king of the world, seeing the utter ruin of his countless 
hosts is a fugitive for life. Alexander pursues and over- 
takes him on the banks of the Indian Ocean. He now 
makes overtures to the triumphant Greek, proposing to 
divide the world between them and each rule one-half. 
Alexander points up to the sun in his noon day glory. 
and says, ^^Do you see that sun?'' Darius responds. 
"Yes." Do you not know that this world could not have 
two suns for they would burn it up. Xeither can it have 
two kings. So he took it all, thus girdling the globe with 
the great brazen empire of Daniel's prophecy. While 
the Alexandrian conquest established the Greek in the 



14 Life of Jesus and His Apostles. 

government of every nation under heaven^ B. C, three 
hundred and twenty-five ; in one year this universal em- 
pire was disturbed by the death of the conqueror^ disin- 
tegrated by his four surviving generals into the king- 
doms of Greece^ Egypt, Syria, and Central Asia, so it 
ceased to conserve the end of a universal empire which 
was so absolutely essential to the universal and unob- 
structed propagation of the Gospel. 

4. A Powerful Military Despotism. Such is God^s 
province provided in mighty Rome. The great iron 
empire of prophecy was the very thing needed to con- 
solidate the immeasurable nations, tribes and principali- 
ties into one solid and invincible government, ruling the 
world with a rod of iron. Without this preparation, uni- 
versal evangelism would have been utterly impossible 
as the gospel heralds would have been arrested, killed or 
imprisoned the moment they crossed the national 
boundary, thus insuperably disqualified to carry the gos- 
pel into all nations. B. C, seven hundred and fifty-three^ 
the infants Eomulus and Eemus, by order of the Alban 
king were exposed on the banks of the Tiber to be de- 
voured by wild beasts; a wolf finding them, and sup- 
porting them with her own milk. 

Both times I was in Eome I saw the historic wolves 
and the cave in which tradition says the above paradox 
took place. The separate boys become the nucleus of a 
band, which soon swells into a tribe and rapidly grows 
into a nation. Thence the stratagem by which the Sa- 
bines supplies the bachelor nation with wives. Mars 
the war God, is their favorite, consequently war is their 
religion. The Temple Janu, whose open doors were the 
index of war were never closed but three times in their 



Prologue. 15 

history of a thousand years; once during the reign of 
Xunia Pompilius; again^ immediately after the first 
Punic war and finally during the reign of Augustus 
Cagsar. Meanwhile^, Jesus was born in Bethlehem^ 9o 
that he was truly the herald of "peace on earth and good 
will to men/^ 

This universal and invincible military despotism rul- 
ing the whole world with a consolidated government was 
the very preparation needed to carry the gospel to the 
end of the earth. Xot only were these four great prep- 
arations necessary, but it is a significant fact that in 
some way the attention of all nations was directed to 
the outlook for Christ. We see this manifested at 
Lystra. 



LIPB OP JESUS AND HIS AFOSTLES. 

CHAPTEE I. 

THE PRE-NATAL SAVIOR. 

The redemptive scheme has been a glorious reality 
from the triune council^ in which the Son of God vol- 
unteered to redeem the race and veritably became 
the ^^Lamb of God slain from the foundation of the 
world'' (Eev. 13 :8) . John 1 :9 : ''He was the true light, 
which lighteth every man^ coming into the world/' This 
inspired affirmation of John the Baptist in reference to 
the world's Savior shows conclusively that every human 
being that has ever existed on the earth from Adam to 
the present generation^ or ever will till the latest pos^ 
terity shall respond to the archangel's trumpet^ is the 
recipient of the true light, which makes the pilgrim's 
road to glory always bright. Therefore, no human be- 
ing will be able to say in the Judgment Day, "I am for- 
ever lost because I did not know the way." This is clear- 
ly corroborated in 1 John 1 :7 : ''If we walk in the light 
as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with an- 
other, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses 
us from all sin." God only holds us for the light which 
we have, hence there will be three judgments in the 
Great Day. (Eom. 11:12-15.) The 0. T. people will 
be judged by the Old Testament only; the N. T. peo- 
ple, by the whole Bible; while the heathen millions who 
have had no Bible, will only be judged by the light of 
.. - ... 17 



18 Life of Jesus and His Apostles., 

nature^ their own conscience^ and tlie Holy Ghost. The 
popular idea that the heathen millions are irretrievably 
and indiscriminately cast into hell is flatly contradictive 
of the above and many other Scriptures. Titus 11 :11 : 
^"^The grace of God that bringeth salvation to all men 
hath appeared.^^ This Scripture positively settles the 
problem and irrefutably authenticates the conclusion 
that Christy who is this grace^ actually does now, always 
has^ and always will bring salvation to all human beings. 
Hence, Adam^s ruined race is indiscriminately left with 
the shadow of an apology for making their bed in hell 
fire. Doubtless the most horrible woe of the damned, 
which will fill hell with lugubrious wails and gorgon 
horror through all eternity will be the inextinguishable 
memories of golden opportunities contemned, forfeited, 
and eternally fled. The Jehovah of the Old Testament 
is the Christ of the New. John 1 :21-25 ; 1 Cor. 10 :9-10. 
Here we see that according to John and Paul, the Jeho- 
vah of Isaiah and Moses is the Christ of the New Testa- 
ment. The Hebrew word EloJiim, means God Almighty, 
while Jehovah means Christ. It is a significant fact that 
Christ in the form of man actually visited Abraham in 
his tent at Mamre, and ate with him 1,898 years before 
He was born in Bethlehem. During both of my journeys 
in the Holy Land, I visited that hallowed spot where my 
ex-camate Lord walked, talked and ate with His friend 
Abraham. It is an equally significant fact that ISTebu- 
chadnezzar saw Him in the fiery f um'ace with Shadrach, 
Meshach and Abednego 603 years before He was born in 
Bethlehem. Hence we see that the real Christ has been 
on the earth in all ages, dispensing His redeeming grace 
to all humble, appreciative hearts. 



The Pre-Natal Savior. 19 

If the lieatlieiis can be saved without our ministra- 
tion of the Word^ then why should we carry it to them ? 
First. Because God has commanded us to preach the 
gospel to all nations. Therefore, disobedience on our 
part would seriously jeopardize our own souls. Second. 
To say the least, our heavenly estate would suffer much 
depreciation and detriment. Third. While there is a 
gracious possibility of salvation of air the heathens, with- 
out us, the probability favors the conclusion that infin- 
itely more would be saved through our instrumentality. 
Fourth. It is unquestionably God^s plan to save them 
through our instrumentality ; yet he is not dependent on 
us. Do not understand me to even imply that a soul can 
be saved without the Gospel. But you must remember 
that Christ Himself is the Gospel. John 1. You see plain- 
ly in this chapter a recognition of His presence on the 
earth from the beginning is a specification of the fact 
that he became flesh and dwelt among us. He has de- 
nominated the Word, from the fact that language is the 
vehicle of revelation, and He Himself is the greatest 
revelation ever made to the world. The Holy Spirit is 
the Spirit of Christ (Acts 5:4-9), and He has always 
been in the world, "even moving on the face of the 
waters in creation^^ (Gen. 1:2). From the preceding 
Scriptures we see the indisputable tangibility of the con- 
clusion that Christ has been in the world from creation^s 
dawn, actually bringing salvation to fallen Adam and 
Eve, the antediluvian myriads, and the postdiluvian 
millions, down to the present day. Oh, what a weep- 
ing and wailing in judgment day because none of the 
millions doomed and lost can offer a solitary apology 
for the eterniiy of woe looking them in the face ! So 



30 Life of Jesus and His Apostles. 

complete has our wonderful Christ wrought the stupen- 
dous work of redemption, that every human being, from 
Cain down to the latest posterity, like the prodigal son 
and his elder brother^ has actually been born in the 
kingdom of grace, and only gets out by personal trans- 
gression. We see in the final judgment (Matt. 25:46) 
countless multitudes standing on the right hand of the 
Judge receiving the happy salutation of the blessed wel- 
come into the everlasting "kingdom prepared from the 
foundation of the world.^^ You see by their responses 
that they had not known Christ personally in their 
earthly lives ; but had manifested His love for their con- 
temporaries, which is the normal fruit of that saving 
faith, which, in the dim lights amid ignorance and su- 
perstition, had groped its way through and touched the 
spiritual Savior. Meanwhile the unfortunate millions 
on the left are only condemned for their failure to ex- 
hibit the Divine love which is the nature of God (John 
1:4), thus giving confirmatory truth of their fatal re- 
jection of the faith and obedience inspired by the Holy 
Ghost. The one class exhibits the fruits of love, and the 
other those of selfishness. Our wonderful, unsearchable 
and incomprehensible Christ, as you see from the above 
Scriptures, has always been in the world, omnipotent to 
save, and actually saving all who let Him. The untu- 
tored, in his primeval wilds, sees God in the clouds, and 
hears Him in the winds; 

Whose soul proud science never taught to stray ; 

For as the solar walk,- — ^the milky way. 



CHAPTEE II. 



THE INFANT JESUS. 



The antediluvian dispensation was starlight. The 
constellations grew brilliant in the patriarchal age. The 
moon arose with Moses, moving in her queenly beauty 
and majesty over the starry canopy. Day dawned with 
John the Baptist, and the sun arose with Shiloh^s proph- 
ecy, the Christ of God, the Eedeemer of Israel and the 
Savior of the world, and culminated in his noonday 
glory, when on Mt. Zion, burst with splendors of the 
fiery baptisms, which Jesus told them He would pour 
on them from Heaven, gave the impetus which shook 
Heaven, earth and Hell, and the shaking is still the 
sensation of the world, the joy of the angels, and the 
panic of devils. 

Four thousand years of preparation have rolled away. 
Pagan polytheism has dominated the world without a 
rival ; done its best, run its race, and is on a universal 
decline, a recognized failure by the sages of every land. 
Human learning has lifted up its haughty head, declared 
its independence, sought creation around for resources, 
has actually monopolized the world with its resources, 
dazzled the gaze of all nations by the splendors of the 
poetry, oratory, philosophy and fine arts traduced by the 
master spirits of the ages. Amid all these gigantic 
achievements, the wisest philosophers have become dis- 
gusted with their signal incompetency to satisfy their 
current maxim, gnothe seanton, know thyself; thus 

21 



22 Life of Jesus and His Apostles. 

finding themselves utterly incompetent to philosophize 
man and to answer the practical questions^ Who am I ? 
Whence came I ? and What is my destiny ? Meanwhile^ 
the conquests of Alexander have given th3 world the 
finest language ever spoken this side of heaven — God^s 
own vehicle^ which He used^ the Greek philosophers^ 
poets and orators^ a thousand years of solid toil^ to fab- 
ricate^ formulate and beautify. Already the Eomans 
have marched their conquering armies to the ends of the 
earthy and consolidated every nation into one universal 
military despotism^ sweeping away the barriers which 
for ages divided up the world by race lines, color lines, 
sect lines, and government lines. JSTot only is the world 
ready for the most important event in her history, but 
all nations, for reasons wrapped in profound mystery, 
are really on the lookout for the Lord to appear. 

1. The Annunciation. Luke 26 :38. I have been 
in the beautiful Church of the Annunciation, standing 
on the spot where Mary happened to be w^hen the Arch- 
angel Gabriel appeared to her announcing the startling 
tidings of the impending visitation of the Holy Ghost, 
and the conception of her Lord. That was a greater 
trial for the virgin than you are likely to think, as in 
the popular view it would expose her to the darkest 
scandal and endanger her condemnation to an ignomini- 
ous death by the law of Moses. God gave her grace to be 
true through the risky ordeal. A magnificent monu- 
ment of the archangel and the virgin now stands in this 
church, which is visited by about thirty thousand Chris- 
tian pilgrim.s annually. It is pertinent as we go along 
to fortify the reader against heresies current among 
holiness people, and used so adroitly by the adversary 



The Infant Jesus, 23 

for the detriment of God^s true people. A dangerous 
heresy hinges at this pointy even daring to charge our 
Lord with hereditary depravity^ alleging that He in- 
herited it from His mother^ who was a fallen being like 
the rest of us. To obviate tliis allegation^ Pope Pius IX. 
proclaimed his favorite dogma of the immaculate con- 
ception. To apply this to Mary is simply assuming the 
point in dispute without proving it. There never was 
but one creation. When God created Adam He created 
the race; Eve being no exception^ she being not a new 
creation^ but a transformation from Adam^s rib. So 
when Adam sinned and fell^ the whole race sinned and 
fell. Unf alien Adam had no posterity, consequently- 
every human being is fallen and depraved. You must 
remember that. Christ is nowhere called the son of Adam^ 
but always denominated Himself "the Son of Man.^^ In 
John 7 :44;, Jesus, looking the leading church members 
in the face, said : "Ye are the children of your father, 
the devil.^^ God created man, but the devil created sin, 
i. e., the carnal; i. e., Adam the First; spiritual life 
having been lost by the fall and only regained in regen- 
eration. Therefore Christ is the only unf alien Son of 
humanity, and our salvation consists in our translation 
out of Adam the First into Adam the Second. ST. B. 
Jesus had no human father, but was generated by the 
Holy Ghost; consequently He received no depravity. 
Eemember, generation is by the male parent, and gesta- 
tion by the female. The reason why the human race ar^ 
fallen is because they are all generated in Adam, the 
progenitor of us all, as the oak tree was created and all 
the balance have developed from it. So this depravity 
problem in its application to our Savior utterly evan- 



24 Life of Jesus and His Apostles. 

esces^ being demonstratively untenable, as He had no 
human father, and generation is by the father only, and 
gestation by the mother. . 

2. Birth of Jesus. Though Joseph and Mary be- 
longed to the royal family of David, they lived at Naza- 
reth, a hundred and fifty miles down in Galilee. In the 
providence of God, Augustus Caesar, the Eoman Em- 
peror, ordered an enrollment of all the people prepara- 
tory to a general taxation. Consequently, even at that 
apparently inopportune time, they vrere compelled to 
appear at Bethlehem, the birthplace of David, eight 
miles south of Jerusalem. As they were so very poor, 
■ the most comfortable lodging that they could command 
was a cave used for domestic animals. Meanwhile, the 
shepherds herding flocks on the plains five to eight miles 
east of Bethlehem, are surprised b)^ the visit of a lovely 
angel, sweeping down from heaven, the splendor of his 
glory pouring a sunburst on their faces; meanwhile 
a roaring proclamation fills the plain and echoes back 
from the surrounding mountains: "Fear not, for be- 
hold I proclaim unto you good news of great joy, which 
shall be unto all people; because this day a Savior is 
born unto you, who is Christ the Lord, in the city of 
David. And this shall be the sign to you: you shall 
find an infant wrapped in swadling clothes lying in a 
manger^^ (Luke 11:10-12). That was a designation 
quite sufficient to guarantee certainty, as they might 
search the whole world round, and they would not find 
another case of a young baby lying in a cow manger. 
They were actually too poor to provide Him any clothes. 
They simply gathered up some old pieces and wrapped 
them around Him. The popular date, December 25, is 



The Infant Jesus. 25 

evidently a mistake, as that is mid-winter, when sheep 
do not graze out, but lie up in the fold during the night 
and feed during the day. \Ye see here that they were 
out herded by the shepherds and grazing at night, which 
corroborates the verdict of the critics, which I believe, 
locating Christm^as April 5. 

No sooner has the angel aroused them by the splen- 
dor flashing from his radiant countenance and snow- 
white habiliments, as well as the stentorian proclama- 
tion of his trumpet voice, than they hear the melodies of 
an unnumbered host w^ho swept down from heaven to 
sing their happy gaudeamus over the manger hallowed 
to contain the world^s Eedeemer. The astounded, 
thrilled and electrified disciples immediately leave their 
flocks and walk away with an elastic bound to Bethle- 
hem, and, pursuant to the direction of the angel, find 
the infant all right, salute Mary and Joseph, raise an 
uproarious shout and make the welkin roar as they re- 
turn to look after their flocks. 

God has been pleased to inaugurate the different dis- 
pensations by certain grand and significant demonstra- 
tions. The Law dispensation of the Father rang out 
from Mount Sinai, amid wreathing smoke, stentorian 
thunder, forked lightnings and earthquakes. The Son^s 
dispensation, as we here see, was proclaimed by the mel- 
odious anthems and loud shouts of the angels, while 
that of the Holy Ghost was characterized by the roar of 
the tempest and tongues of fire. N. B. — Beware of the 
fanatics, who tell you that sanctification is done away 
with, because we do not hear the roar of the hurricane 
and see the fiery tongues. As well might they invalidate 
Justification, because the angels have ceased to proclaim 



2G Life of Jesus and His Apostles. 

it with tlieir songs; and also conversion, because Sinai 
no longer gives us thunder-bolts and earthquakes. 
These brilliant manifestations only symbolize the mighty 
works of the Holy Ghost in the heart. 

3. Circumcision' oe Jesus. Luke 11:21. Pur- 
suant to the law (Gen. 17:12 and Lev. 12:3), on the 
eighth day they proceed to circumcise the baby. The 
Jewish dispensation is symbolic throughout. The phys- 
ical birth represents regeneration, and circumcision 
sanctification ; the one ushering into life, and the other 
removing impurity. The short interval of eight days 
illustrates the pertinency of seeking sanctification quick- 
ly after conversion, the case of our Savior decisively cor- 
roborating the conclusion. They also offered a sacrifice 
when they took Him into Jerusalem to present Him to 
the Lord, according to the law (Lev. 12:2 and Ex. 
13 :2). They generally offered a bullock or a lamb; but 
in case the parties were very poor, they were allowed to 
offer a pair of turtle doves, or two young pigeons, as in 
this case, because Joseph and Mary ranked among the 
poorest people. Meanwhile they are attending to the 
circumcision and the sacrifice in the temple, the good 
old Prophet, Simeon, led by the Holy Ghost, having al- 
ready revealed to him that he should see the Lord^s 
Christ, comes into the temple, takes the infant in his 
arms, blesses God, utters some thrilling prophecies in 
reference to the fall of unbelieving Israel, the uplift of 
the faithful few, and the wonderful revelations of the 
Holy Ghost following. Thus he bids the world adieu 
with Jesus in his arms and glory in his soul. At the 
same time Prophetess Anna, of 84 years, having long 
preached the living word to the pilgrims, entering the 



The Infant Jesus. 27 

temple, joyfully corroborates the testimony of Simeon 
in his reference to the Infant Eedeemer. 

4. CoMmG OF THE Magi. Matt. 11 :1-12. These 
Magi, i. e., magicians (wise men, E. V.) were the teach- 
ers of religion, astronomy, astrology, science and litera- 
ture in the succession of the patriarchal dispensation, 
with which Melchisedek, Jethro and Job were identified 
in their day; were scattered all over the great East, 
e. g., Persia, Amedia, Arabia^ Messopotamia and other 
countries. Being astronomers and foretelling future 
events by the movements of the stars, such was their ac- 
quaintance with the constellations that they recognized 
a new star the moment it put in its appearance. At 
this time, in the providence of God, their attention was 
arrested by the astronomical phenomenon of -a new star, 
a total stranger in the mighty host of the glittering con- 
stellations^ which they had long contemplated, chasing 
each other in their nightly peregrinations over the ce- 
rulean concave. This shrewd and acute diagnosis of 
these oriental experts not only detects the phenomenon, ' 
but soon obserres its occidental trend. Guided by di- 
vine intuition, they immediately set out on' an exploring 
expedition to satisfy their godly anxiety in reference to 
the star. Day after day, steadfastly beating their march 
in the wake of the holy star, they ere long crossed the 
Jordan, the star still trending westward, '^ow they 
make a mistake, so incident to all inquirers after truth. 
i. e., leaving the guiding star, they proceed to the royal 
palace in Jerusalem, thus side-tracked through the se- 
ductive temptation to look upon the king as the arbiter 
of light and knowledge, they get out of the way, fall 
into serious trouble, are forced to skedaddle from the 



28 Life of Jesus ^and His Apostles. 

country^ narrowly escaping with their lives. In King 
Herod they not only signally failed to receive the de- 
sired information^ but aroused his suspicion of a royal 
rival in the person of Christy, and immediately super- 
induced the murderous resort of the monarch. Learning 
from the prophecies read in the royal presence by the 
scribes and chief priests responsive to the inquiry of 
Herod, the Magi at once set out for Bethlehem. Several 
times have I seen the Well of the Star, about three miles 
from Jerusalem on the road to Bethlehem, so-called be- 
cause at that place the star re-appeared to the wise men, 
delightfully following which they soon arrived at Beth- 
lehem, the holy star halting over the manger hallowed 
to contain the world^s Eedeemer, and looking down from 
the bright, oriental skies, still radiant with the splen- 
dors and resoundant with the songs of the heavenly host. 

Hark, a glad voice, the lonely desert cheers : 
Prepare the w^ay, a God, a God appears ! 
Now earth receives Him from the bendi*ng skies; 
Sink down, ye mountains ; ye valleys rise ! 
With heads declined, ye cedars, homage pay; 
Be smoothe, ye rocks, ye rapid floods give way; 
The Savior comes, by ancient bards foretold ; 
Hear Him, ye deaf, and all ye blind behold. 

There is a beautiful symbolism in the coming of the 
wise men to see Jesus, and their going back another way. 
Herod symbolizes the devil, who always gets after people, 
who come to see Jesus. As the wise men return to their 
own country another way, so all the people who seek 
and find Jesus go back to their homes over a route they 
never traveled before. In their outgoing, they prose- 



The Infant Jesus. 39 

cuted their journey through the land of sin; but for- 
tunately they returned through Emanuel^s country. 

5. The Flight Into Egypt. How true is the 
maxim, "The Lord will provide V^ It may not be my way, 
it may not be thy way, and yet in His own way, the 
Lord will provide. God knew Joseph and Mary were 
utterly incompetent financially to go that journey of 
seven hundred miles into Egypt. Yet it was absolutely 
necessary in order to save the life of His Son from the 
murderous cruelty of the haughty monarch, who stood 
at the head of the visible church. There He sent the 
wise men from the distant Orient to bring the money 
and valuable aromatics salable for more money, to de- 
fray the expenses of that long journey and pay their 
board while resident in Egypt. I have been in the iden- 
tical house, a very venerable stone edifice in Old Giro, 
where the holy family resided, as history says, a month. 
It is now a Goptic church, commemorative of the resi- 
dence of the infant Savior. During both of my tours in 
Egypt I also visited the holy fig tree, under which tra- 
dition certifies that the holy family pitched their tents 
quite awhile. The Egyptian fig tree is very large. I 
found this one twenty-five feet in circumference at the 
ground, and all of its trunk and branches literally cov- 
ered with fruit. 

6. Slaughter oe the Ineants. When in Bethle- 
hem I saw these cruel tragedies vividly represented in 
artistic paintings. When Herod despaired of learning 
the whereabouts of the infant Ghrist from the Magi, 
who contemmed his orders clandestinely escaping out 
of his country, he flew into a rage characteristic of his 
haughty autocracy and sent soldiers with all expedition 



30 Life of Jesus and His Apostles, 

to murder all the boy babies in that country two years 
old and younger^, feeling sure that he would get the right 
one. How signally God defeats the devil! During all 
of these atrocities^ Jesus was safe and prosperous iji the 
far-away land of Egypt. Inspiration describes Eachel 
weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, 
because they are not. EachePs tomb stands by tlie road 
from Jerusalem to Bethlehem^ about two miles from the 
latter^ where she expired during parturition, hence the 
pertinency of the prophef s vivid allusion to this mother 
in Israel sleeping in her tomb in hearing distance of the 
heart-breaking lamentations of the dying and the be- 
reaved. We see in this bloody tragedy how history re- 
peats itself. Many a modern Herod has sought infor- 
mation with reference to the holiness movement, preten- 
tiously feigning friendship, while really ^"^seeking the 
young child to destroy him.^^ These Herods abound in 
popular pulpits and official boards. 

7. Departure Out of Egypt. When God spoke to 
Mary, He sent the Archangel Gabriel to communicate 
with her face to face. Speaking to Joseph, He reveals 
His will in dreams ; thus confirming the tenable hypoth- 
esis of w^oman^s near proximity to the Divinity. He 
made man out of the dust, -and woman out -of man, the 
second blessing in creation. She was last at the cros«, 
first at the sepulchre, first to meet her risen Lord, re- 
ceived His full-orbed commission to preach the risen 
Savior to the disciples and a dying world. Here we see 
God again speaks to Joseph in a dream, notifying him 
of Herod^s death and ordering his return to Canaan. 
Reaching the border and ascertaining the succession of 
Herod by Archelans, fearing for the safety of the child, 



The Infant Jesus. 31 

he passes through Philistia proceeding northwardly into 
Galilee^ his native land;, reaching their home at Naza- 
reth^ where Jesus was brought up. The child continued 
to grow and waxed strong in spirit^ being filled with wis- 
dom; and the grace of God was upon him. Jesus never 
had any sickness. Such a conclusion would be utterly 
out of harmony with His human perfection^, which pre- 
cluded all infirmities of every kind. Consequently His 
growth physical^ mental and spiritual was normal and 
vigorous being entirely unobstructed even by the infirmi- 
ties which characterize all other human beings even at 
their best estate. We can actually have no adequate 
conception of the wonderful rapidity ;, solidity and brill- 
iancy^ which characterize His progress^ specially intellec- 
ually and spiritually. 

7. Jesus Ix The Temple. After their arrival at 
Nazareth follows the unwritten biography of Jesus 
for nearly thirty years, with the isolated excep- 
tion of His journey to Jerusalem, and attending the 
Passover at the age of twelve years. Luke 11 :^l-o2. 
The Jewish festivals opened and closed on the Sabbath^ 
running through the intervening week, comprising in all 
eight days. For the sake of company and security, they 
traveled in crowds, most of them on foot, some on don- 
keys and some on camels. When setting out on a jour- 
ney to or fro they used the morning to get ready and 
started about noon. Eeturning from the above Pass- 
over, they traveled about fifteen miles, halting at Beeroth 
to pitch their tents for the oncoming night, when miss- 
ing Jesus and failing to find Him among His relatives 
and acquaintances, they return to Jerusalem and after 
three days find him in the Temple sitting in the midst 



32 Life of Jesus and His Apostles. 

of the learned teachers and exponents of the Holy Scrip- 
tures^ the attention of all concentrated on Him^ mean- 
while they listened spell-bound^ electrified and unut- 
terably astounded and dumbfounded by His wisdom and 
paradoxical answers to the questions propounded to Him 
by these mighty men of erudition and theology. The 
inspired historians merely state; "he went down with 
them and came into I^fazareth^ and was subordinated to 
them/^ When I was in Nazareth I was ineffably edified^ 
electrified and transported while visiting Joseph^s car- 
penter shop; in. which I saw him and Jesus at work^ 
and Mary sitting by^ looking on them. The statuary 
Which exhibits them is the heau ideal of perfection^show- 
ing them up^ real as life. The statue exhibits Him about 
sixteen years old^ the facsimile of innocency^ purity and 
simplicity^ standing at the work bench^ using the saw 
and the hammer. I have seen worlds of statuary^ exe- 
cuted by the finest sculptors of Egypt^ Greece^ Eome and 
all other countries and all bygone ages ; but I never saw 
the equal of the statue^, that represents Jesus working 
in the carpenter shop. There is but one solution^ and 
that is^ the Holy Ghost most unquestionably^ took the 
sculptor into His hands when he executed that climac- 
teric specimen of human art. "And Jesus continued to 
progress in wisdom^ stature and favor with God and 
men.^^ As this verb is in the imperfect tense you see it 
includes the entire period of our Lord^s life down to 
expiration of His. thirtieth year^ April 5^ A. D.^ 30. Ee- 
nam has drawn on his imagination in writing out the 
life of Jesus^ during the thirty years of His minority. 
Of course it is guess work, a novel, and we do not wanl 



The Infant JesuSf 33 

it. Divine wisdom is manifested in leaving these thirty 
years unwritten : 

(1.) Because his Messianic ministry had not yet be- 
gun, and his biography contained nothing essential to 
salvation. 

(2) If it had been written, many people w^ould go 
into superstition and fanaticism, imputing saving val- 
idity to it. 

(3) It would actually have made the 'New Testa- 
ment so very large as to be burdensome. 

(4) The brevity of our Lord^s biography is a won- 
derful help to the diligent student, who is anxious to 
learn it just as thoroughly as possible. 

(5) There is a great mercy in the quadruple biog- 
raphy, as the diversity of style on the part of Matthew, 
Mark, Luke and John conduces much to augment the 
light, simplicity and perspicuity which flash over the 
inspired pages of our Lord^s thrilling and charming 
biography. 

(6) The summary of the whole matter is that the 
Holy Ghost has left^ us without excuse for the shame- 
ful ignorance that so largely prevails among the nominal 
disciples of our blessed and wonderful Savior. We 
here observe in this comprehensive statement winding up 
the inspired history of Jesus, during His minority ; that 
He continued to progress in wisdom, stature and favor 
with God and men, perpetual and steady 'onward and up- 
ward trend, physical strength, giving Him that stalwart 
body, competent to climb the rugged mountains, cross 
the valleys and perigrinates, preaching and working mir- 
acles from dawn till dark ; and that wonderful vigorous 
intellect which miade truth simple enough for the 



34 Life of Jesus and His Apostles. 

barbarian and idiot^ and at the same time dived into the 
profundities, soared into altitudes, broadened into lati- 
tudes and swept down into the longitudes of boundless 
eternity; thus evolving a curriculum which a Pauline 
mind will never exhaust in time and eternity. Mean- 
while His unf alien human spirit was expanding, flash- 
ing and accumulating ever iu creasing splendor, vivacity 
and power of interpretation, peculiar only to unfallen 
humanity; but constantly flashing out upon the land- 
scapes of fadeless glor}^, the bewildering possibilities of 
all who follow Him in the wonderful regeneration per- 
fected in the glorious sanctification and culminated in 
the transfiguration, w^hich will sweep from the field all 
the debris of the fall and restore it back to the perfec- 
tion of the Divine image and likeness of which Satan 
spoliated us; thus in the successess of our glorious Cap- 
tain we will triumphantly survive not only the wrecked 
ruin of the fall, but every conceivable vestige will 
evanesce, so the gigantic intellect of Gabriel and Michael 
will never detect a solitar}^ imprint of Satan^s cloven 
foot. It is pertinent here to observe that this is the last 
mention of Joseph, that noble man of God, so signally 
honored with the foster fatherhood of the world's Ee- 
deemer. Of course he exchanged labor for rest some- 
time during the subsequent eighteen years of oui 
Lord^s minority. 



CHAPTEE III. 



THE MAN JESUS. 



We have already passed through the minority of the 
Man who always has been and always will be the won- 
der of the ages^ the pnzzle of philosophers, the stumb- 
ling block of Theologian and the ridde of all critics. 
Pursuant to the law of his dispensation, which put ma- 
jority at thirty and maturity at fifty, this Paragon Man 
remained obedient in the home circle till He completed 
His thirtieth year, April 5. Meanwhile his cousin, John 
the Baptist, six months His senior, has already been in 
the exercise of his wonderful ministry these six months 
from his m^ajority; beginning obscure, poor, illiterate 
and uninfluential ; his ministry like the snow-ball, on the 
Alpine summit, starts rolling, accumulating with every 
bound, till it becomes a mighty avalanche sweeping ev- 
erything before it. So John the Baptist has become the 
sensation not only of the nation, but of the world. He 
has emptied the cities and populated the wilderness with 
teeming thousands. His stentorian voice dail}^ holds 
spell-bound an audience of ten to twenty thousand ; not 
only is all the land of Israel stirred as never before since 
the days of Moses, but the wild sons of Ishmael and 
Esau are pouring out daily from the Land of Moab and 
Idumaea. At this culmination of John^s wonderful min- 
istry Jesus lays down the plane, the .saw and the ham- 
mer, bids adieu to the carpenter shop and goes awaj^, 
w-alking a hundred and fifty miles, arriving at the scene 

35 



36 Life of Jesus and His Apostles, 

of John^s ministry^ while the mighty hosts are listening 
spellbound. Suddenly John turns^ points Him out and 
shouts aloud; "Behold the Lamb of God that taketh* 
away the sins of the world/^ The vast multitude thrilled 
and bewildered Avith astonishment and enthusiasm^ 
spontaneously give way^ opening a temporary aisle 
through which the stranger walks down^ meanwhile 
John descending from his native stone pulpit advances 
to meet him; — ^truly the most wonderful meeting ever 
witnessed by mortal eyes^ that of Napoleon Bonaparte 
and the Czar of Eussia on the river Tilsit not excepted. 
Jesus demands baptism at the hands of John ; who mod- 
estly declining confesses his need of the baptism^ which 
none but Jesus can give^ i. e.^ that of the Holy Grhost 
and fire. John was not begotten by the Holy Ghost^ like 
eTesus. Therefore he inherited depravity from Adam 
w^hich nothing but the fires of the Holy Ghost can de- 
stroy. Jesus acquiesces in John^s affirmation of his need 
of His baptism ; but at the same time notifying him that 
it was incumbent on them^ i. e.^ John and Jesus "to ful- 
fill all righteousness.^^ That righteousness is found in the 
Levitical law requiring the high priest to be anointed be- 
fore he could enter upon the orders of his office. Pursu- 
ant to this laW;, Moses poured the Holy oil on the head 
of Aaron^ thus inducting him into his official high priest- 
hood. Then John proceeds with the baptism of water 
to consecrate his Lord for his official Messiahship. Luke 
3 :21-23. "And it came to pass while all the people 
v/ere being baptized Jesus also having been baptized and 
praying, the Heaven was opened, the Holy Spirit with 
bodily appearance, like a dove, came down on Him and 
there was a voice from Heaven saying; "thou art my be- 



• Tke Man Jesus. 37 

loved son, in Thee I am well pleased/^ We see here that 
when Jesu-s was baptized He continued praying to the 
Father to send on Him the Holy^ Grhost. X. B. — Jesus 
is perfect Man and perfect God. 

Do not forget that it was the Man Jesus who suffered 
and died to redeem this guilty world, as divinity can 
neither suffer nor die. The Man Jesus did the preach- 
ing and sealed the truth with the blood of martyrdom. 
Just as you and I in order to preach the gospel must 
have the Holy Ghost. The Apostles all preached the 
gospel with the Holy Ghost sent down from Heaven. 
Jesus our great Apostle and High Priest, in His earthly 
ministry was no exception to Biblical law. He must 
have the enduement of the personally indwelling Holy 
Ghost, to qualify Him for His ministry. John^s baptism 
was his consecration to his Messianic ministry; mean- 
while he prayed right on till the Holy Ghost descended 
from Heaven and rested on him, thus filling and empow- 
ering him for his ministry. While Jesus is the Paragon 
Man of all the world, you must remember that He nev- 
er had any sin, actual or original, consequently He 
never needed the sin side of Christian experience. 
Therefore He only exhibits the positive side of His 
birth, illustrating our regeneration and His reception 
of the Holy Ghost, our sanctification, while the thirty 
j'Cars of his minority at Nazareth show up in spotless 
purity and simplicity a paragon justification; we find 
but a solitary incident in all that period sufficiently im- 
portant to justify the attention of the inspired historian. 
Hence \^e legitimately conclude that His life was une- 
ventful. The same is ''"^'ue of all His followers during 
their spiritual minority. "^ preached fifteen years and 



38 Life of Jesus and His Apostles, 

m 

was president of a college^ before I got sanctified; yet my 
life was without events^ not one of the eighteen books 
w^hich I have subsequently written^ had so much as 
dawned on my anticipation^ neither had my subsequent 
travels been so much as dreamed of. Luke 11:52 says 
^^ Jesus during His minority grew in favor with God and 
men/^ How vididly does this contrast with His own fre- 
quent affirmations .subsequent to the coming of the 
Holy Ghost on Him^ that "^^the world hateth/^ His re- 
ception of the Holy Ghost at the Jordan was His sanc- 
tifioation^ qualifying Him at once to enter upon the 
ministry for which He came into the world. Oh^ what a 
sudden transition from the quietude and toils of the 
domestic life which had characterized Him during the 
thirty years of His minority^ to the stormy and temp- 
estuous career upon which he entered. Then the Holy 
Ghost descended on Him from Heaven. Immediately 
He was led by the spirit away into the dreary desert to 
be tempted by the devil. Mark says "The, spirit driveth 
Him out into the wilderness.^^ Sanctification means war^ 
conflict^ blood and death; i. e.^ that you at once move 
forward^ take your stand on the first line in the front of 
the battle^ load to the muzzle and always shoot to kill. 
You go for conquest and scalps^ you fight not for gj'm- 
nastic exercise^ but for victory all the time. The Holy 
Ghost is honored by every battle you fight^ because He 
alwa3'S gives you victory. Moses^ the mediator of the 
Sinaic eovenant^and Elijah^ the greatest of the prophets, 
both fasted forty days (of course being divinely sus- 
tained in their spiritual rapture, otherwise they would 
have starved to death.) Inspiration certifies that the an- 
gels ministered to Jesus during the forty days, making 



The Man Jesus. 39 

the scene really lieavenlj'^ so that He was sustained in a 
j)reternatural rhapsody^ of fortifying against hunger^ till 
after the lapse of the forty days^ when the angelic 
rayriads were withdrawn^ leaving Him alone amid the 
Lleak wilds of the burning waste^ when hunger incon- 
ceivably intensified by reason of the forty days^ fa-st lit 
down on Him with the gnawing voracity of a thousand 
harpies. Xow amid the gloomy solitude of the howling 
wilderness Satan makes his first assault on His physical 
manhood by tempting Him to use His miraculous power 
in transforming a stone lying at his feet^ into a loaf of 
bread to satisfy his craving appetite. Jesus was in perfect 
health;, and His hunger^ sharpened by forty days^ fas.t;, 
is absolutely inconceivable by any who should ever read 
these pages. The Wilderness of Judea in which this 
tem^ptation took place^, (and through which I have trav- 
eled four times) ^ reaches within fifteen miles of Jerusa- 
lem. K'ow Satan leads Jesus to the temple and has Him 
climb the loftiest pinnacle^ from which he tempts Him 
to leap; this assault the adversary made on His human 
spirit^ turning his hellish artillery against His faith^ 
which is the basis of all spirituality. Finally he leads 
him to the summit of the highest mountain (I trow it 
was Olivet which is the highest in South Canaan^ and 
only separated from Jerusalem by the valley Jehosa- 
phat) and ex:hibits before him a gorgeous panorama of 
all the time honored empires beneath the skies^ offering 
him what he alleged as a most reasonable compromise 
of all their controversities, i. e.^ that he would actually 
enthrone him monarch of all this worlds turning it over 
to him unreservably and for ever contenting himself to 
reign in hell only^ on the isolated condition^, that he 



40 Life of Jesus and His Apostles. 

should become liis ally and extend to him the adoration 
due an oriental monarch. This assault was directed 
against the gigantic^ unfallen intellect of Jesus. Al- 
ready had Se&0iStris> i. e.;, Eameses 11^ the Pharaoh of 
Moses^ time, JSTebuchadezzar, Cyrus, Alexander, and 
Caesar conquered the world. 

Satan, whose mind is utterly dark on spiritual 
things, at once leaped to the conclusion that Jesus was 
an aspirant to temporal power. When Satan had ex- 
hausted all his resources he retreated away; the angels 
coming at once were delighted to extend Him every con- 
ceivable blessing within the sphere of their heavenly 
ministrations. You see that a solitary stroke with the 
sword of the spirit signally defeated Satan and achieved 
a complete victory over each of the three decisive as- 
saults, which he made on the humanity of our Lord, 
i. e., his body, spirit and intellect. This fact is inval- 
uable to us, illustrating the infinite value of God^s word 
and flooding us with the realization of the paramount 
importance of having it in our memories and meditating 
on it like the blessed man (Psa. 1,) night and day; thus 
having it superabounding in the heart, ready to leap 
from the tongue-tip every moment we are all living in 
the enemies^ country, (2 C'or. 4:4), and liable to assault, 
battle and death incessantly. What a decisively contrast 
between Satan^s wars on Adam the First and Adam the 
Second! In the former, victory complete came on the 
first round; Satan actually economizing two-thirds of 
his ammunition. In the latter he used all of his ammu- 
nition and fortunately for us lost it all. The secret of 
this glorious victory was the occupation of the Man 
Jesus by the Holy Ghost ; who not only led him into the 



The Man Jesics. 41 

battle, but in every case, achieved complete and over- 
whelming victory, thus imparting accumulated strength 
and courage. No wonder Jesus forbade His ow^n Apos- 
tles to embark on the conquest of the world, till they 
received the Holy Ghost at Pentecost. He well knew 
their utter inadequacy to the emergency. The nor- 
mal attitude of the gospel dispensation, is that of spirit- 
ual manhood, in contradistinction to the infancy of the 
former dispensation. Gal. 4:1-7. Church- joining is a 
misnomer. We are not joined into the church of God, 
but bom into it; regeneration making you an infant 
member, where you remain in a state of spiritual minori- 
ty till you receive the personal Holy Ghost in real and 
complete sanctification ; thus conferring on you spir- 
itual majority, preparing you for every conflict with the 
world, the flesh and the devil and insuring you certain 
and glorious victory. In this there is absolutely no de- 
falcation. So long as you enjoy the indwelling Holy 
Spirit, he fights your battles and gives you victory. 
Defeat only comes after you have grieved away the 
glorious Paraclete. No wonder the people of Nazareth 
so awfully fell out with Jesus when He preached His 
first sermon to them after He had received the Holy 
Ghost at the Jordan. When only twelve years old, He 
was an able and edifying teacher of the word; but we 
hear nothing about His raising awful rousements with 
the Devil. So it is now, we may teach in the Sunday- 
schools, preach in the churches and do a lot of good, be- 
fore we get sanctified ; we are not likely to stir the devil 
much. I was in that old synagogue in Nazareth (a 
venerable, massive stone building) , where Jesus wor- 
shiped thirty years, living the life of irreproachable jus- 



4:2 Life of Jesus and His Apostles, 

tification^ doing His whole duty and glorifying His 
Father, by teaching the word of the Lord. After He en- 
tered His spiritual majority, being filled with the Holy 
Ghost, from that m-oment it descended on Him in the 
form of a dove, He always preached the gospel "with 
the Holy Ghost sent down from Heaven/^ Thus filled 
and flooded w^ith the spirit, having returned to his na- 
tive Nazareth; He proceeds to preach his glorious gos- 
pel. See what a phenomenon ! The people who have 
known him from the cradle can scarcely believe their 
own eyes and ears! His words are lightning's shafts, 
and his sentences thunderbolts ! They tear out the mud 
©ills of the old carnal edifices, which they had thought 
competent to stand the storms of eternity. They raise 
a row, lay violent hands on Him, determined to kill 
Him, forcing him to resort to his divinity to prolong his 
life till he could preach his gospel, call out his church 
and organize his ministry. Similar phenomena have 
always characterized preaching the gospel in the power 
of the indwelling Holy Ghost. When the Lord sanctified 
me thirty-three years ago, He made me a cyclone or fire 
moving over the earth. Everywhere I preached the Holy 
Ghost fell 'on the people and they got convicted, con- 
verted and sanctified. I could have a revi\ al anywhere. 
I preached from the Atlantic Ocean to Mexico and 
through the great interior, 500 to 900 sermons a year, 
till I wore out my voice and my nerves, when God in His 
mercy put His hand on me excusing me from the thun- 
der, tempest, lightning, and earthquake of the dear old 
battle field wdth which I was so delighted, and made me 
a teacher iii the school of Christ, giving me many books 
to write, thus preaching by pen as well as speech. Oh 



The Man Jesus. 43 

His Tinutterable goodness! Who can tell? Eeader I 
hope j^ou are a disciple of Jesus. He lived and died -un- 
der the law dispensation^ which made thirty years the 
period of minority. This he observed before He entered 
upon His llessianic ministry. We live under the dis- 
pensation of a full and glorious liberty ;, so beautifully 
emblematized by the impressive and instructive s}Tn- 
bolism of the typical ages in the wonderful liberty of 
this Holy Ghost dispensation^ we do not have to wait 
•thirty years nor even thirty days for spiritual majority^ 
i. e.^ manhood in Christ ; but amid the splendors of gos- 
pel opportunities^ full s-alvation proculminates ringing 
Tound the worlds we may all make the consecration 
which Jesus did in the baptism of John and pray on as 
he did, till the Holy Ghost descends on us from Heaven ; 
thus sanctifying us wholly and taking up his abode in 
our 'hearts^ investing us with u whole canopy and mak- 
ing us more than a match for the worlds the flesh and 
the devil. Oh, the unutterable glories of a spirit-filled 
disciple in the track of Jesus ! 



CHAPTER lY. 



THE MINISTRY OF JESUS. 



The induement of the Holy Ghost really launched 
Him into the ministry for whic^h He came into the world. 
His beautiful mirax^le in Canaan of Galilee, turning the 
water into wine was) prolific^ his real beginning tak- 
ing place speedily afterward at Jerusalem^ cleansing the 
temple pursuant to the prophesy, Ps. IxixilO, specify- 
ing that the Messiah appearing would come suddenly to 
the Temple -and purify it. It is pertinent here that we 
give you an explanation about the Temple which I never 
knew till I visited the Holy Land. I always thought 
those sacrificial animals w^hich Jesus drove out were ac- 
tually in the Temple Building. This is a great mistake. 
The word Temple appearing so frequently in the Bible 
included thirty-five acres of beautiful table land on the 
summit of Mount Moriah ; containing Solomon^s temple 
and many other magnificent buildings; but by far the 
greater portion of the area is entirely unoccupied by any 
superstructure. On these holy grounds the myriads of 
Israel pitched their tents during their great festivals, i. 
e., their camp-meetings; The Passover in April, Pente- 
cost in June and the Feast of Tabernacles in Septem- 
ber, each have a grand symbolic significance; the Pass- 
over symbolizing regeneration ; Pentecost, sanctification, 
and Tabernacles, glorification. The reason why we can 
see all of these things now at Jerusalem^ is because the 
Mohammedans who have possessed and ruled that coun- 

44 



The Ministry of Jesus. 45 

try (with the little interruption of the crusaders, 88 
years) are the descendents through Ishmael and Esau, 
the eldest son and grandson of Abraham, who not oiily 
have in their Koran all the prominent facts of the Old 
Testament, but they claim the right to tiiat country 
through the covenant which God made with Abraham, to 
give it to him and his seed forever; alleging the pre- 
eminence of their claim over that of the Jews, pursuant 
to the well known Patriarchal Law which gave the eldest 
son the birthright, i. e., a double portion of the father^s 
estate. These people conquered and took possession of 
that country, A. D., 637. They hold the Temple 
ground, i. e., those thirty-five acres, as the holiest place 
this side of Heaven, really regarding it just about as 
Holy as Heaven. As the Jews are their uncompromising 
rivals, they originally prohibited them from entering the 
holy ground on penalty of death. A Gentile can go into 
it under the greatest restriction's, guarded by Turkish 
soldiers, also paying money for the privilege. When 
David numbered Israel, God was much grieved (evi- 
dently because He knew that many of them were not 
true Israelites) ; He at once entered into terrible judg- 
ment with him ; giving him his choice between three aw- 
ful punishments, (1) a seven years^ famine, (2) three 
months^ retreat before his enemies, and (3) a wasting 
and blighting pestilence of three days. So David was 
in an awful dilemma ; a seven years^ famine would per- 
haps depopulate his country, whitening the land with 
bones. Defeat by his enemies three months was utterly 
intolerable by a brave man like David, who knew well 
that all the great nations whom he had conquered' would 
not only revolt but turn on him for vengeance. There- 



46 Life of Jesus and His Apostles. 

fore he chose the latter, saying "^^Lot me fall into the 
hands of Grod^^ ! He knew that God was merciful and 
would rather risk him than men. So the pestilence seta 
in and the people are dying in piles on all sides. Ere 
long the eyes of David are opened and he looks from 
his residence in the City of David on Mt. Zion over the 
intervening valley to Mt. Moriah and sees the destroy- 
ing angel with uplifted sword, falls down before God 
and cries aloud, ^"^Oh, Lord spare these sheep and let me 
die/^ God heard his cry and called away the destroying 
angel and arrested the pestilence. David ran to the sum- 
mit of Moriah where he saw the angel. It was then 
occupied by Arannah^s threshing-floor. "** David besought 
him to sell it to him that he might erect an altar and 
ojBfer sacrifices to God, whose mercy had saved the people 
from death. Arannah refused to sell it, but said he 
would give it to him and the oxen for sacrifices and the 
implements for fuel. Then David refused to receive it 
as a gift, affirming his utter unwillingness to offer God a 
sacrifice that cost him nothing. Consequently Arannah 
sold it to him. On that very spot in the long ago, Abra- 
ham had offered up his son Isaac as a sacrifice to God. 
On this identical spot, David aimed to build a temple, 
but God kept him in other work, conferring that blessing 
on Solomon, who in his day immortalized his name by 
building the Temple there on the summit of Moriah. 

Pursuant to the prediction of Jesus that Temple was 
destroyed by the Eoman armies, A. D. 73; the land 
being desolated and depopulated during the exterminat- 
ing wars, i. e., the Jewish Tribulations, a million of peo- 
ple perishing by the sword, pestilence and famine; a 
million more sold into slavery to other nations, and the 



The Ministry of Jesus, 47 

remnant led captives to Eome to become imperial slavea 
Jerusalem lay desolate fifty years, \\dtliout an inhabitant, 
when the Emperor Adrian went thither, found a Eoman 
colony which he named Elia Capitolina, and built a 
heathen temple on the site of Solomon^s Temple. So 
idols were worshiped on that holy spot, till the conver- 
sion of the Emperor Constantino, A. D. 321; who at 
once came to Jerusalem, restoring that sacred name, tak- 
ing do'wn the Temple of Jupiter and erecting on the spot 
a Christian one which stood till the conquest of the 
country by the Mohammedans, A. D. 637; when Caliph 
Omar, their commander-in-chief, took down the Chris'- 
tlan church and erected a Mohammedan Mosque on 
the spot which -stood till the Christian crusaders con- 
quered the country and captured Jerusalem under the 
leadership of pious Godfrey, A. D. 1099. The Crusad- 
ers took down the Mosque and erected a Christian 
church on that hallowed spot, Vhich stood 88 years till 
the Mohammedans under the leadership of Salidan sig- 
nally defeated the crusaders in the great battle fought 
on Mount Hattan, on the west 'bank of the Galilean Sea^ 
thus driving the Christians utterly out of the Holy 
Land. Then they took down the Christian Church and 
restored the Mohammedan Mosque on that historic site 
where Abraham offered Isaac> David saw the angel and 
Solomon built the Temple. I have traveled through these 
holy grounds, during both of my visits to Jerusalem. The 
Mohammedan Mosque now standing there is one of the 
most beautiful buildings in the world. This spot is the 
most celebrated in Bible history of all the world, this oc- 
cupies all of !Moriah and overlooks the Holy Campus ly- 
ing out towards sunr!se, containing thirty-five acres 



48 Life of Jesus and His Apostles, 

where the Moslem millions now assemble in their great 
religious communications ^ancJ where the Jews fifteen 
hundred years^poured in from the ends of the earth their 
teaming myraids to enjoy their holy festivals. The crit- 
ics all deny that Jesus was ever in the Temple proper, 
as all of this ground, thirty-five acres, was included in 
the comprehensive word, Temple, used in the Bible. As 
the Temple building was in the hands of the high 
priest, who rejected Jesus from the beginning, it is 
affirmed that they never let Him enter Solomon^s Tem- 
ple. I used to think that Solomon^s Porch in which he 
was once mentioned as walking, was a projeetion from 
the Temple. This is a mistake. It waa separate, off 
near the Beautiful Gate which enters the ground from 
the East and is four or five hundred yards from Solo- 
mon^s Temple. Our Savior was an indefatigable open- 
air preacher. He availed Himself of the great festivals 
to which the multitudes gathered from the ends of the 
earth, to preach his glorious heavenly truth, that they 
might catch it and carry it with them in all their vast 
dispersions; foT you must remember as the Jews have 
always been the most enterprising people in the world, 
they had gone into every nation, colonized every city, 
growing rich hy their merchandise and mother industries. 
Among all their festivals, the Passover was the most 
prominent, being epochal in the history of their nation- 
al birth, as slaves have no nationality, and the Passovef 
wag executed to commemorate their emancipation from 
Egyptian bondage. On that memorable night when the 
destroying angel winged its flight throughout all the 
land and slew the first born in every Eg3rptian home, 
seeing the slain lamb on the d(?or-posts, he passed over 



The Ministry of Jesus. 49 

the houses of Israel. This institution was repeated an- 
nually on the fourteenth of April through the 1491 
years which elapsed till the Lamb of God was slain on 
Calvary. Among the millions of birds and beasts which 
bled on Jehovah^s altars four thousand years ; the Pass- 
over Lamb was the most conspicuous symbol of the great 
Antitype destined in the fulness of time to bleed and 
die for a guilty world. Josephus says two hundred and 
fifty thousands were slain at a single Passover. What 
rivers of blood did flow during typical dispensations^ 
teaching by their vast^ oft repeated and indelible black- 
board exercises the greatest and most important fact ever 
revealed to the human race^ that God Himself was com- 
ing down to bleed and die f oi^ earth^s guilty millions ! In 
the study of our Savior's biography^ you should never 
lose sight of Passovers. They serve the traveler as val- 
uable guideboards. During his ministry of three years 
we have four Passovers. One marks the beginning when 
•he purified the 'Temple by driving out the buyers and 
seLlers^ who had their herds and flocks on the holy 
ground^ to sell to the people who wanted to offer sacri- 
ficeS;, while the exchangers received the Greek and Eo- 
man money which they gathered from the Gentiles^ but 
was not received in the temple treasury. Therefore they 
must exchange it for Jewish money before they could 
make their offering to the Lord. The reason why Jesus 
charged them with making the House of God a den of 
thieves"v^as because they cheated the people in selling the 
animals and birds^ and exchanging the money. Cheat- 
ing is stealing. If you overcharge^ you are a thief. 
The two cleansings of the Temple symbolize the two 
works of Grace;, regeneration and sanctification. When 



60 Life of Jesus and His Apostles. 

the Lord comes again he will give a final cleansing, 
symbolizing our glorification^ which we receive when we 
die^ unless we have the fortune to survive till He comes 
in the rapture and takes up His saints^ then all the liv- 
ing will be instantaneously, so'ul and body, transfigured 
and translated. Our Lord thus began His ministry at 
the Passover, returned to Jerusalem and attended the 
second; but did not come to the third as those multi- 
tudes whom He miraculouslj^ fed with the loaves and 
fishes on the mountain Bethsaida off the West coast of 
the Galilean Sea, were excited by the miracle, and were 
about to crown Him king, in which case the Komans 
would have killed Him, consequently He declined to 
attend the third Passover, sending away the multitudes, 
who were then assembled to go up to Jerusalem, he re- 
mained in Galilee. The fourth Passover He attended 
and became the identical Paschal Lamb symbolized by 
that great institution the passed 1491 years. 



CHAPTEE V. 

JESUS PREACHING IN GALILEE. 

It is a significant fact that our Lord spent two and 
one-half years out of the three of his earthly ministry in 
the comparatively thinly populated and obscure regions 
of Galilee. It is affirmed by critics that He never spent 
a night in Jerusalem. When the Devil gets hold of the 
church it always becomesi God''s greatest enemy. We see 
this illustrated in the history of Jesus. King Herod 
at the head of the church deluged Bethlehem and the 
surrounding country in blood in order to kill Him. The 
high priests and ruling elders hounded His track all his 
life thirsting for his blood. Therefore He dare not 
spend a night in Jerusalem^ their headquarters^, or they 
certainly would have attacked Him. The presumption 
is when Nicodemus sought that nightly interview with 
Him^ he was either in Bethany or some of the villages 
of Mt. Olivet. As it was absolutely necessary that he 
should have time to teach his disciples the great truths 
indispensable to the^ salvation of the worlds he needed 
three full years to prosecute that work^ establish the 
Kingdom of Heaven on the earth and prepare His peo- 
ple to propagate it to the ends of the globe. Oh^ how I 
did enjoy my travels in. Galilee ! Especially the Sea of 
Galilee on whose bank stood the City of Capernaum, 
where Jesus made his head-quarters', as is believed, lodg- 
ing inj the house of Peter, who was living there when the 
Master called him to the Apostlesihip. The charm I 

51 



52 Life of Jesus and His Apostles. 

felt while sailing over this beautiful sea over which Je- 
sus sailed so much, and on whose shore He preached to 
the spell-bound multitudes, beggars all language to de- 
scribe. I sailed all round hither and thither on the 
track of my Lord, with my harmonical Greek Testament 
open before my eyes, and the quadruple histories of Mat- 
thew, Mark, Luke and John, edifying and thrilling me 
as we sailed from shore to shore, over those beautiful 
cerulean waters, limpid, fresh and abounding in fish, as 
in the days of yore, and Jesus and His apostles glided 
over them, sometimes calm as a summer day, but ever 
and anon tossed by the tempest, and plowed by the cy- 
clone. Thia beautiful sea is 16 1-2 miles long, 8 miles 
wide and 150 feet deep, interpenetrated by the river 
Jordan, entering from the North, flowing through it the 
long way and of course, lost in it and flowing out to- 
wards the South, pursuing its undeviating way till lost 
in the Dead Sea, which lies between great Mt. Pisgah on 
the East and the Wilderness of Judea on the West. The 
Sea of Galilee is 100 feet below the Mediterranean, i. e., 
the level of the watery world. Consequently the great 
West wind© frequently dip so low when passing over it 
and impinged against the Eastern highlands' with so 
great impetuosity as to whirl round against the shore in- 
stead of rising the mountains, the effect is to produce a 
cyclone, seriously perilous to navigators. Consequently 
we frequently read in the New Testament striking allu- 
sions to these storms. While traveling on the land we 
are frequently warned by guides and guide-books to look 
out for storms on the Sea of Galilee. My last tour was 
in 1899 ; the Emperor of Germany having preceded me 
the preceding year. I everywhere saw his foot prints. 



Jesus Preaching in Galilee, 53 

Having learned that an excellent boat had been built in 
Beyrouth Syria^ and transported thither for his special 
accommodation; we called for it on arrival^ and secur- 
ing the use of it^ embarked and sailed all around the 
sea, 75 miles encompassed, feeling secure from the 
storms, as we realize the presence of Him who com- 
manded the winds and the waves, "and there was a great 
calm/^ 

In the days of Jesus that sea was literally environed 
with cities crowding the shore on all sides. During the 
ages of desolation they all perished. Among the inspir- 
ing omens of the Millennial dawn and our Lord^s 
speedy return, is the revival of these cities forever im- 
mortal in. the inspired history of the Incarnate God, 
^^and Jesus returned in the dynamite of the Spirit into 
Galilee,^^ Luke 4 :14. "And when the Lord knew that 
the Pharisees heard, that Jesus is making and baptizing 
more disciples than John, (indeed Jesus Himself was not 
baptizing, but his disciples) He left Judea and went 
back again into Galilee.^^ Jno. 4 :l-3. The Greek positive- 
ly reveals that Jesus never did baptize any person with 
water, but his disciples did it on a grand scale; it being 
the province of Jesus only to baptize with the Holy 
Ghost and fire. John the Baptist, the greatest of the 
Prophets, had shaken Israel from center to circumfer- 
ence, besides sending an electric shock through the Gen- 
tile world. When he baptized Jesus, thus publicly in- 
augurating Him into His official Messiahship, when 
pursuant to His consecration and prayer the Holy Ghost 
descended on Him from Heaven, filling and dynamiting 
Him for His Messianic Ministr}^, such was the power 
and magnetism attending his preaching that multiplied 



54: Life of Jesus and His Apostles. 

thousands gathered about Him^ hanging spell-bound 
day after day^, charmed and electrified by such preaching 
as mortal earsi had never heard. When John the Bap- 
tist pointed Him out and shouted aloud^ *^^Behold the 
Lamb of God that taketh away the sins of theworld/^ 
there was a general rally of his disciples on the track of 
Jesus. In Judeaism water baptism always played a much 
more conspicuous part than the people in our day appre- 
hend. When Mose-s sprinkled all the people at the Tab- 
ernacle door upon the ratification of the Sinaic cove- 
nant;, Heb. 9:19; 5 ilO^, "which stood only in meats and 
drink and diverse baptism/^ says he baptized them. 
Israel at that time numbered three millions. Hence 
Moses was a great baptizer. Whenever a Jew had con- 
tracted ceremonial defilement (by contact with unclean 
animals^ dead bodies^ lepers, et cetera) he was prohibited 
from the tabernacle service till some ceremonially clean 
person could sprinkle, on him the water of separation, 
thus purifying him. This law of purification specified 
that the blood of a spotless and blemishless red heifer 
(which symbolizes the atonement) should be dropped 
into water, thus comstituting it a purifying element. As 
it would be expensive to slaughter the red heifer when- 
ever they needed the purifying element, the law provided 
that the animal should utterly be consumed and the ash- 
es used as a substitute for the blood. Thus you see a 
Jew might be baptized a thousand times in his life or 
even more if he had contracted ceremonial defilement so 
frequently. Hence the repentance of John the Baptist 
signified' a new departure in the divine life, and was per- 
tinently confirmed by baptism. While John^s ministry 
belonged to the old dispensation ^ as he was the greatest 



Jesus Preaching in Galilee. 55 

and the last of the prophets and even more^ being the 
precursor and introducer of the Savior^ he baptized all 
who professed repentance under his ministry and faith 
in Him who was to come. Yet the ministry of Jesus 
being a decisive onward movement from John required 
John's converts and all others to confess their faith in 
Him by water baptism^ which was administered by his 
disciples. The mighty swell of popular enthusiasm be- 
ing turned from John to Jesus^ constrained Him to leave 
Judea and return to Galilee. ^"^After two days He went 
from thence and departed into- Galilee/^ for Jesus Him- 
self witnessed that a prophet has no honor in his own 
country. Galilee was His own country. You see He 
went off thither to avoid the swelling tide of popular 
enthusiasm attending His ministry in Judea ; evidently 
nivch augmented by the happy introduction which John 
had given Him^ as well as the tremendous boon of dis- 
ciples which John turned after him^ when he abnegated 
the Messiahship for himself and boldly certified that 
Jesus was truly the Shiloh of prophecy. For the above 
considerations Jesus left Judea very early in His minis- 
try^ and went back to his native Galilee^ where he had 
been brought up^ and they would not raise so great ex- 
citement over Him and He might enjoy comparative 
quietude in which to prosecute His work. If he had re- 
mained in Judea^ the constant trend of the enthusiastic 
multitudes was to crown Him King of the Jews^ as al- 
ready they had endured the galling 3"oke of Eoman des- 
potism thirty years. At Jerusalem He was in constant 
perturbation between two fires^ His friends on tiptoe to 
crown Him King, and the High Priests looking upon 
Him with the jealousy and fear of an official rival, plot- 



56 Life of Jesus and His Apostles, 

ting to kill Him. He had made them awfully mad by 
the autocracy He exercised in cleansing the Temple. 
Had it not been for the restraint of an Unseen Power, 
they would have killed Him at the time He actually ex- 
ercised the prerogative of supreme potentate. It w^as not 
only necessary that He should have time and opportunity 
to preach His gospel and corroborate His Messiahship 
by miracles; but it was absolutely necessary for Him to 
have time so thoroughly to teach His apostles the great 
truths of His Kingdom that they might thoroughly re- 
ceive and 'appropriate them^ preparatory for the great 
work of the world^s evangelization^ thus establishing the 
Gospel Church in all the earth. In view of these stu- 
pendous realities^ he bade adieu to Jerusalem^ the resort 
of the multitudes and head-quarters of the hierarchy^ 
and went away into Galilee where His own countrymen 
would not make so much ado over Him^ and the High 
Priests would rest in the quietude of their palaces in 
Jerusalem. 'N, B. In the utter ajasence of all mail facili- 
ties^ news travels slowly. On arrival in Cana of Gali- 
lee a certain royalist from Capernaum/ forty miles dis- 
tant^ importunes Him to come and heal his son. Jesus 
said to him^ ^*^Go^ thy son liveth.^^ In his anxiety he de- 
parts without dela}^^ traveling on f oot^ or perhaps riding 
a donkey all night. The servants meet him on arrival in 
the early morning, cheering him on the good news of 
his 'son^s convalescence. Upon inquiry they certify, ^^at 
1 p. m. yesterday the fever left him.^^ Then he responds, 
**^Why, that is the very time Jesus said, Go, thy son liv- 
eth.^^ The effect of this miracle was to give a grand 
boon to his own faith which had hitherto been some- 
what weak, and convert his whole family, John 4 :46-54. 



Jesus Preaching in Galilee. 57 

He now goes from Cana to Nazareth, His native city, 
only five miles West. As already specified, He came in 
the dynamite of the Holy Ghost. (Power which is the 
only definition of gospel in the Bible, is dyn'amite in the 
original.) Under His first sermon in that old synagogue 
where He had worshiped thirty years, there is such an 
awful explosion that they break up in a row, the mob 
superseding the religious meeting, determined to kill 
Him, and would have murdered Him at that early day 
had not the Divinity came to the relief of the humanity, 
in order to prolong its life till He could establish His 
kingdom on the earth. Such is the normal effect of 
^'^preaching with the Holy Ghost sent down from Heav- 
en.^^ The churches are now crying peace ! We have no 
objection to holiness, but only the manner in which 
it is preached by the evangelists ? Beware ! When the 
dead church has no objection to holiness, rest assured 
it has lost its dynamite, and consequently no longer 
blows up dead formality, hollow hyprocrisy and worldly 
compromise. They demand of us to preach in such a 
way that it will not shake the devil and the world out of 
the church. On this line Jesus signally failed; they not 
only raised a hubbub and turned Him out of the church, 
but did their best to kill Him. If you do not preach 
in the fulness of the Spirit, you are neither in gospel 
order, nor in the succession of Jesus. If you are filled 
with the Holy Ghost, you fear neither man nor devils, 
and wonderful things will happen where you go. Do not 
be surprised if you provoke stones, dirt, eggs and mobs. 
God help us all to be true and preach like Jesus, in the 
d}Tiamite of the Holy Ghost, looking out for explosions 
and be prepared for the consequences. \^Tien they ran 



58 Life of Jesus and His Apostles. 

Him away from Nazareth^ His* native city, He went 
to Capernaum on the Northern bank of the Galilean Sea^ 
and made that the center of all His ministerial peregri- 
nations. James, John, Peter, Andrew, Philip, Matthew 
and perhaps others lived there, a distance of about 45 
miles. Luke 4:16-31. He now begins His ministerial 
work in his new field, peregrinating along the Northern 
shore of the sea he recognizes Peter and his brother 
Andrew, in a ship prosecuting their daily livelihood by 
fishing. Having preached a sermon from Peter^s ship 
to the multitude standing on the shore, winding up, said, 
^^shove out into the deep and spread your nets for a 
draught.^^ Peter responds stating that they had toiled all 
night and caught nothing, and there were certainly no 
fish about there as the night is a better time to catch 
them than the day; but through courtesy to Him they 
spread the net and caught a vast school of fishes, so that 
the net began to break. Then he and Andrew, his 
brother, beckoned to John and James, their partners in 
the business^ to come to their relief. The result was 
they immediate^ gathered so vast quantities of fishes 
that both the ships began to sink under the intolerable 
weight. Then Peter, characteristic of quick preception 
and sprightly intuition,overwhelmed with the realization 
that he w^as in the presence of a super'human being, con- 
victed, appalled and panic stricken, beseeches Him to de- 
part from him, confessing his sinfulness. Peter had 
met Jesus at John^s baptism and became his f ollower,but 
was not 3^'et sanctified. Hence the presence of Jesus 
flashed through him the light of the Supernatural and 
the revelation of his inbred sin. 

We ought to be so like Jesus and so filled with the 



Jesus Preaching in Galilee, 59 

Spirit that all sin^ actual and original^ will be revealed 
and rebuked by our mere presence. The saddest phe- 
nomenon of the fallen churches and backslidden clergy 
of the present day^ is their congeniality and conprater- 
nity with a wicked worlds mournfully illustrating the 
ancient proverb^ "similiius similes congreganter^ birds 
of a feather flock together/^ Tobacco using^ frolicking, 
theatre-goings lodge-attending professors^convict nobody. 
They are down on a level with the worlds whose votaries 
find congeniality with them^ Luke 11 :1-11. IsTow Jesus 
meets a man in the synagogue in Capernaum possessed 
bj^ an unclean spirit^ i. e.^ a devil of impurity^ which is 
so common at the present day. The demon recognizes 
Jesus; as you know they are fallen angels^ and had 
known Him- in Heaven^ for He cast them out when they 
sinned. God never created the devil^ a sinner or a ser- 
pent. He created angels; some of them fell and became 
devils. He created man ; he fell and became sinner. He 
created the Xahash^ the most intelligent of all animals; 
he became instrumental in the abduction and ruin of 
humanit)^^ and was transformed into the snake by di- 
vine retribution. This is the first of the many denomi- 
acal ejectments in the ministry of Jesus^ and with all 
other similar cases vividly illustrates his power over all 
devils^ to cast them out. We have no evidence that he 
ever cast out a demon before the Holy Ghost came on . 
him and filled Him at the Jordan. This is the great 
test of your spiritual majority^ i. e.^ entire sanctification^ 
confirmed by the reception and indwelling Holy Spirit. 
He has power over all evil spirits^ and is ready to use you 
to cast them out. This is really your climacteric con- 
firmation that you enjoy the experience of full salva- 



60 Life of Jesus and His Apostles. 

tion, i. e.^ that you have power to cast out demons^ and 
are consequently efficient as a soul saver. 

It is in vain to claim the experience of entire sanc- 
tification in the absence of the indwelling Holy Spirit^ 
who will always reveal His presence by casting out de- 
mons^ as the people are free^ the demons will never be 
cast out till conviction has so done its work^ that the 
demonized really desire and seek this great deliverance. 
In this case the demons convulsed and lacerated, caus- 
ing great excitement among the people. 

I am just now out of eleven camp-meetings the 
present year, (1901), in which I almost constantly wit- 
nessed the work of demoniacalment ; and in many in- 
stances quite similar to the case here described. Mark 
1 :21-28. Now we have a notable miracle of healing 
Peter^s mother-in-law, who was afflicted with a great 
fever. The healing was quick and complete, so that she 
arose at once and proceeded with her domestic work, 
ministering to the comfort of her guests, the house being 
the honored abode of Jesus through the kind hospitality 
of the inmates. Hence we see the ministry of our Lord 
conspicuously characterized by his benefactions in be- 
half of the soul, casting out the filthy, degrading and 
tormenting demons, and in the interim, healing all dis- 
eased. He positively commissioned His disciples to go 
and do this work, i e., cast out demons -and heal the sick. 
All demons are not cast out, not because the Holy Ghost 
is not present^ able and willing to do it, but because 
submission and faith on the part of the subject are de- 
fective. For a similar reason diseases are not always 
healed. The word of Jesus in reference to the body is 
just as explicit as appertaining to the soul. ^^Himself 



Jesus Preaching in Galilee. 61 

took our diseases and carried our sicknesses/^ Matt. 7 : 
17; Is.liii:4. Our Lord^s word^ "as your faith is so be 
it unto you^^ is perfectly reliable whether appertaining 
to soul or body. In all of my travels I see diseases de- 
part from the sick, while we pray for them and anoint 
them in the name of the Lord;, Jas. 5 il-i. We must re- 
member that the healings we receive in this life are in 
the interest of the final and perfect healing which will 
take mortality out of this body;, when it wdll rise in the 
transfiguration glory. It is' certainly our privilege to be 
healed till we finish our work on the earth and the Lord 
gets ready to take us to heaven. When that time ar- 
rives;, we will have no faith to be healed;, then the Lord 
will give us heaven which is inflnitively better than 
health. Kom.* 7 :11. "If the Spirit of Him who raised 
up Jesus from the dead dwells in yoU;, He that raised 
up Christ Jesus from the dead will also quicken your 
mortal bodies by His spirit dwelling in you.^^ This 
beautiful and wonderful scripture is really the key to 
divine healing. As the soul is infinitely more than the 
body, the blessing of healing, normally belongs to the 
sanctified; however it is not confined to them. If God 
did not heal the wicked, they would soon all be dead. 
T\Tien we are sanctified wholly, then the Holy Spirit 
dwells in this body, using it as his house, my soul being 
unutterably blessed with His heavenly companionship. 
Therefore, responsive to my faith. He will keep this 
house in repair so long as He wants me to live in it. If 
a breach appears in the wall, the roof, the floor^ or any 
other part of your house, you proceed at once to repair 
it. But the time will come when you quit repairing 
your house ; then all your neighbors know that you are 



62 Life of Jesus and His Apostles. 

going to move out of it into a new one. I am now sixty- 
eight years old. Since the Lord sanctified me thirty- 
three years ago I have committed to Him my body for 
keeping and healing. He has healed it repeatedly^ re- 
sponsive to my faith. But if He tarrieth and does not 
send an angel for me, the time is very near when I will 
have no body to be healed, because it will be worn out 
and no longer worth healing. When my faith for the 
healing of my body shall fail I expect my faith for an 
upward flight to receive new impetus, responsive to 
which I will joyfully move out of this old, dilapidated 
house into the building of Grod, not made with hands, 
eternaland in the heavens. Jesus neither castdemons out 
•of the soul, nor diseases out of the body till He passed 
out of childhood into manhood, i. e., reached His ma- 
jority and received the Holy Ghost, by whose power 
(Gr., dynamite) He cast out the de;monsi, healed the 
sick, cleansed the lepers and raised the dead. You see 
the super-eminent importance that we should be filled 
with the Holy Ghost, not only for our own immortal in- 
terest, but that we may prove His humble instruments 
in the salvation of the demonized and the healing of the 
sick. Infants are incompetent to perform these mighty 
works-, fraught with interest incalculable, to a sufferings 
wicked world. We are all in spiritual infancy till we re- 
ceive the Holy Ghost, who dwells in none but the wholly 
sanctified. He abides with the regenerated, but does not 
dwell in them (John 14:17). 

Now, the inspired historians inform us that ^^Jesus 
went round through all Galilee teaching in the syna- 
gogue, and healing all diseases and every malady among 
the people. His fame went throughout all Syria (a 



Jesus Preaching in Galilee. 63 

great country on the border of Galilee) ; and they 
brought to Him all the sick, possessed with 
various diseases and torments, the demonized, 
the lunatics and the paralytics, and many . mul- 
titudes followed Him from Galilee, from Decapolis^ 
from Jerusalem, from Judea, and from beyond Jordan^^ 
(Matt. 4:23-25). The notable cases of healing the no- 
bleman^s son and Peter^s mother-in-law, and casting out 
the demon in the synagogue at Capernaum, and doubt- 
less other parallel cases not mentioned, swept the whole 
•country, and even heathen Syria, with enthusiasm utter- 
ly illimitable. The whole country arose on tip-toe, 
bringing the poor sufferers from all points of the com- 
pass and laying them down at His feet. Xow a man, as 
Luke says, ^^fuU of leprosy comes to Him entreating 
Him and worshiping, kneeling down before him, saying 
to Him, If you may will it, you are able to cleanse me, 
Jesus being moved with compassion, reached out His 
hand to him and says to him, I will it: be thou com- 
pletely cleansed this moment.^^ The aorist tense, im- 
perative mood and passive voice all abundantly justify 
this strong translation. The inspired narrative says that 
the leprosy then and there departed from him. Hence, 
pursuant to the Lrevitical Law, Jesus sent him to the 
priest, whose office it was to diagnose the leper^adjudicate 
his cleansing,offeT a sacrifice and become a witness to the 
people on His behalf, permitting him to come into the 
sanctuary of the Lord. The ejectment of demons is the 
conversion of sinners, each being possessed of one or 
more. The healing of diseases is the blessing for the 
body. We never hear a mention made of healing a leper, 
but always his cleansing. Because leprosy, while it is 



64 Life of Jesus and His Apostles, 

really the most loathsome^ terrible and incurable disease, 
it is a great and conspicuous symbol of inbred sin, the 
great and awful disease of the soul, which is so infinitely 
more important than the body that the latter is some- 
what thrown into> eclipse in the inspired exegesis. It is 
a significant fact that everything mentioned in the Bible 
is still prevalent in the Holy Land, thus wonderfully 
corroborating revealed truth. The reason why leprosy is 
utterly incurable is because it is a blood trouble, every 
corpuscle being affected by it. Heal it in one place, and 
it breaks out in another. . This man had it all over him,, 
and was consequently a loathsome, living death. The 
reason why the lepers are all delegated to their own mis- 
erable quarters and prohibited from society is because 
of the awful^ horrific, stenchy loathsomeness of the dis- 
ease. Since leprosy is a blood trouble, nothing but a 
blood remedy can possibly reach it. Therefore the blood 
of Jesus is the only elixir that can possibly expurgate 
the leprosy of inbred sin out of the human soul, which 
is the indispensable antecedent to the incoming Holy 
Ghost. Hence the cleansing of the leper constantly 
means the great negative work of entire sanctification, 
which must precede the glorious positive experience, i. 
e., the repletion of the Holy Spirit ; therefore, our spir- 
itual majority which we enjoy in the real experience in 
the full salvation, both negative and positive, prepares 
us for the ejectment of the demons out of the sinner, 
the expurgation of the leprosy of inbred sin out of the 
unsanctified, infilling with the Holy Ghost and the heal- 
ing of all bodily ailments. Oh, what a wonderful field 
of usefulness for the truly sanctified in this poor world 
of sin and suffering! Oh, the infinite value of Spirit- 



Jesus Preaching in Galilee, 65 

filled people, going about doing good! Eeader, my 
prayer to God is, that you may accept the situation and 
prove a blessing to thousands^ converting sinners, sanc- 
tifying believers, and healing the sick. 

Inspiration at this point notifies us that Jesus charg- 
ed the leper not to tell it; but the news was too good 
for him to keep. He, with many others, spread it abroad 
wheresoever they went, until Jesus had to quit the cities 
and go into the desert, whither many also flocked to 
Him. Why was this ? Because the normal trend of this 
great popular excitement was to enthuse the people till 
they would have rallied and crowned Him king of the 
Jews, in which case the Eomans would have killed Him^ 
as they finally did, crucifying Him under this very alle* 
gation — ^This is the king of the Jews." 

Now at Capernaum, where He abode in the house 
of Peter, a paralytic is carried to Him by four friends. 
each one at the corner of the bed. The immense crowds 
filled the house and the yard, where Jesus is perform- 
ing His mighty works; therefore the men ascend the 
house, open a window in the fiat roof and let down the 
bed containing the paralytic till it descends into His 
very presence. Now Jesus instantaneously heals the 
poor victim responsive to the faith of the four friends 
who carry him, at the same time granting him free abso- 
lution from all his sins. This notable case of bodily 
healing and salvation filled the multitude with enthusi- 
asm (Mark 2:3-12). 

The first year of our Lord^s ministry has passed 
away and the second Pasover has arrived, the multiplied 
myriads of Abraham^s children are again gathering into 
the Holy Campus at Jerusalem. Meanwhile He visited 



66 Life of Jesus and His Apostles. 

the Pool of Bethesda, which is near the north gate of 
the Temple and the east gate of the city, at that time 
called the Sheep Gate, because it was a great sheep mar- 
ket; but now called St. Stephen's Gate, because it is said 
that the mob dragged him out through it and stoned 
him to death in front of it. This pool was a noted sani- 
tarium at that time, 'and quite a resort for invalids, 
among whom was a man notorious for his long waiting, 
thirty-eight years already having rolled away since there 
he lay awaiting the sanitary effects of the waters, as the 
people believed made efficacious by the visit of an angel 
ever and anon. When Jesus bade him, "Take up thy 
bed and walk,^' instantaneously and miraculously healed, 
he not only carried his bed, but leaped and skipped with 
juvenile elasticity, exciting the venom of the clergy into 
a rage because Jesus healed him on the Sabbath. When 
the church grieves away the Holy Spirit and retro- 
gresses into dead formality, she always gets very particu- 
lar and even tyrannical on nonessentials. That explains 
the existence of six thousand religious denominations, 
this day claiming to be true followers of the meek and 
lowly Jesus. All these provisions are on matters which 
never were essential to salvation, i. e., holy days, water 
baptism, and a diversity of creedistic dogmata, which 
never did have anything to do with the salvation of the 
soul. God requires you yourself to be holy. When you 
are holy, you will have seven holy days every week. 
There is but one baptism known in the plan of salva- 
tion (Eph. 4:5), that is the baptism of the Holy Ghost 
and fire, which Jesus gives (Matt. 3:11). The true 
unity of Christians is in the personal and experimental 
salvation which Jesus gives, and Jesus responded to 



Jesus Preaching in Galilee. 67 

them, ^^Eveii/iiow my Father worketh and I work^^ (Jno. 
5:17). If God did not work on Sunday^ the snn would 
cease to shine^ the rivers to flow^ the crops to grow, the 
blood to circulate, and the heart to beat. Just as God 
carries on His work all the Sabbath day, so His people 
are to labor indefatigably to save souls, heal the sick; 
edify the saints and build up the kingdom of heaven. 
^^Truly, truly, I say unto you, that the one hearing my 
word and believing on Him that sent me hath eternal 
life, and doth not come into judgment but hath passed 
out of death into life^^ (v. 24). The saints have their 
judgment in this life, and will go up with the Lord in 
the rapture and be associated with Him in the final 
judgment (1 Cor. 6:2). He here makes a beautiful al- 
lusion to the testimony which John the Baptist had 
nobly given, comfirmatory of His Messiahship, at the 
same time reminding them of the evanescence which 
characterized that bright and shining light. 

Having attended the Passover, the greatest of all the 
symbolic institutions of the Old Testament, He speedily 
returns with His disciples to Galilee. On their journey, 
while walking throug'h a field of ripe barley (as this was 
about the first of May, it is ioo early for the wheat), the 
disciples being hungry, proceed to shell out some of the 
beautiful ripe heads in their hands and eat them while 
prosecuting their journey. Again the pharisees attack 
them for desecrating the Sabbath (not for eating the 
barley^ which the law of Moses allowed them to do) 
(Deut 23:25) ; to whom Jesus responded, "But I say 
unto you that there is one here greater than the Tem- 
ple,^^ having already referred to the case of David on his 
flight from Saul, entering the Temple at Nob, the old 



68 Life of Jesus and His Apostles, 

home of Melcliizedek, and eating the shew-bread;, which 
was lawful for none but the priests to eat. ^"^If you had 
known what this is^ I will have mercy and not sacrifice, 
you would not have condemned the innocent/^ Mercy is 
the normal fruit of love^ hence we see that our Lord^s re- 
ligion is all love> exhibiting the two hemispheres; piety^ 
which is love to God, and philanthropy, which is love to 
.nan. False religions are selfish, carnal, worldly, exclu- 
sive and condemnatory of all who do not chance to pro- 
nounce their shibboleth for ^*^The Son of Man is Lord of 
the Sabbath'' (Matt. 12:1-8). This climaxes all quib- 
bles and controversies on the Sabbath. If you are truly 
corporative with Christ in the salvation with a lost 
world, Sunday will be your busiest day. 

The Lord has again arrived in Galilee, having en- 
tered upon the second year of His ministry at the Pass- 
over. You see how the high priest and pharisees hound- 
ed. Him all the time. He was in Jerusalem. As they 
are scattered throughout Galilee and all the Hebrew 
world, of course they continue to lie in wait and perse- 
cute Him in Galilee, as well as in Judea ; yet there was a 
great difference in their popular influence and their fa- 
cilities of manipulating the rabble, as Jerusalem was 
their headquarters and the center of their power and in- 
fluence, both ecclesiastical and secular; especially in 
view of the fact that the place was thronged with multi- 
tudes attending the great festivals — Passover April 14. 
Pentecost June 5, Tabernacles September and Dedica- 
tion in December — evidently from these considerations. 
as our Lord said (John 4:44), He sought the more 
quiet and thinly populated regions of Galilee as the field 
of His wonderful ministry and the area in which He 



Jesus Preaching in Galilee. 69 

might teach His disciples^, organize His ministrj^ and 
set up the Kingdom of Gospel Grace. 

On His arrival in Galilee He is again attacked by the 
scribes and pharisees for healing the man with a with- 
ered hand on the Sabbath. "Looking around upon them 
with anger^ being grieved over the hardness of hearty he 
says to the man^ Eeach forth thy hand. He reached 
out^ and his hand was restored like the other^^ (Mark 
3 :5). Here we see the solution of Eph. 5 :26, be angry 
and sin not. The passages are parallel, the same word 
for anger occurring in both. In the former we see it 
simply means holy grief; the more holy you are, the 
more you are grieved over all sin. John Wesley says, 
'^^The world fails to discriminate between holy grief and 
carnal anger.^^ Hence a true consecration resigns us to 
all sorts of misunderstandings and misjudgments by 
the world for Christ^s sake. "And immediately the 
Pharisees, having gone out with the Herodians, took 
counsel against Him, that they would kill Him.^^ Here 
we see illustrated the unity of Satan^s kingdom against 
God ; though involved in infinite turmoil and conflict 
among themselves. The Pharisees were the radical wing 
of the loyal Jewish party, most inveterately opposed to 
Eoman rule, while the Herodians were a political party, 
headed by officers under the Koman government ; hence 
these two parties were irreconcilably hostile, either to 
the other; yet you see them "here unite in their counsel 
to kill Jesus. Signally does history repeat itself. What 
is more common at the present day, than to see warring 
sects all lay down their cudgels and unite against the 
holiness movement? 

"Behold my servant whom I have chosen, my beloved, 



70 Life of Jesus and His Apostles, 

in whom my soul delighteth; I will put my Spirit upon 
him^ and he shall claim judgment to the Gentiles. He 
will not strive nor scream^ nor will anyone hear his voice 
in the streets ; the bruised' reed will he not break and the 
smoking wick he will not extinguish^ until he may send 
forth judgment into victory. In his name will the G-en- 
tiles hope/' Matt. 12 :18-21. Here is a beautiful allu- 
sion by the Prophet Isaiah to the Savior in His two ad- 
vents contrastively^ in the first, meek and lowly, unos- 
tentatious, going about doing good, not breaking the 
bruised reed, i. e., not crushing the broken-hearted pen- 
itent, but smiling on him land giving him glorious vic- 
tory; nor extinguishing the flickering lamp-wick, but 
pouring in the oil and trimming it until it burns up in 
a triumphant flame. Thus he is the condescending Moli- 
fier of all sorrows and Alleviator of all woes, while in 
His second and glorious coming, He will ride trium- 
phantly over all His foes and girdle the world with the 
glory of His victory. 

We now reach the memorable epoch in our Lord'^s 
ministry when, on the Mt. of Beatitudes, which over- 
hangs the city of Capernaum^ He selects the twelve apos- 
tles, whom He honors above all the people in the whole 
world with His own constant companionship and the 
custodianship of the divine oracles and vehicles through 
which He transmits the glorious plan of salvation to all 
coming generations. We have their catalogue in Matt. 
10 :2-4, Mark 3 :13-19 and Luke 6 :12-19. Mark 14 says, 
^^He ordained twelve, that they may be with Him, and 
that He might send them forth to preach, and to have 
power to heal diseases, and to cast out demons/' We 
see here the prominent phases of the Lord's ministry 



Jesus Preaching in Galilee. 71 

provide for the body by healing diseases, and for the soul 
by casting out the demons. So we see the interests of 
the soul and body go hand in hand. The word ordained 
here is not to be taken in the acceptation given to it 
at the present day by the ecclesiastical organizations 
which have appropriated it, so as virtually to take the 
Lord^s ministry out of His hands. The w^ord here trans- 
lated ordained has no such a meaning as modern eccle- 
siasticisms attach to it, the original being epoieese doo- 
deka — He made twelve. The word ordained was used by 
King James^ translators to sustain the institutions of 
the Episcopal Church, of which they were members. 
The E. Y. gives just one more passage parallel with the 
above — ^John 15 :16 — ".You have not chosen me, but I 
have chosen 3^ou,and ordained you that you may go forth 
and bear fruit, and your fruit may .remain : in order that 
whatsoever you may ask the Father in my name, He may 
give it unto you.^^ In this Scripture the word "ordained^^ 
translated is etheeha, and simply means "I have put you 
in your place,^^ not ^giving the vaguest information of 
anji;hing like modern ecclesiastical organization. Acts 
14:23: '^^Ordaining unto the elders in every church, 
praying with fastings commended them to the Lord, on 
whom they had believed.^^ Here "ordained^^ occurs 
again in the E. Y., these three passages being all that 
can be construed to authenticate ecclesiastical organiza- 
tion. This, like the other two, signally fails to give any 
support to the claims and usages of which so much is 
made in modern church authority, the word being cheiro- 
tonusantes, from cheiTj the hand, and toneo, to reach up, 
setting forth the simple fact that the elders were elected 
by reaching up the hand. We really have no case in the 



72 Life of Jesus and His Apostles 

New Testament that looks like ministry of organization, 
except Acts 13 :3 — "Then^ fasting and praying and lay- 
ing bands on them^ they sent them away/^ This is spok- 
en of Barnabas and Paul when the Holy Ghost moved 
the church at Antioch to send them away on the iirst 
missionary tour of the Apostolic Church. While this 
service is very appropriate in case of that time in every 
age^ it is a significant fact that there was nothing in it 
after the order of the organization practiced by the 
churches at the present day. Both of these men had 
been preaching in the gospel church about ten years^ 
being both apostles extraordinary. Hence we find 
in the New Testament nothing corresponding with 
the modern ecclesiastical organization^ which becomes 
a source of discouragement among a truly called and 
sent preacher of the Gospel. 

The Man Jesus was the head of His own Church 
during His earthly life. He predicted that the people 
of this wicked worlds, and especially the fallen church, 
would not let Him live in it^ but would conspire against 
Him and take His life. In His boundless and unut- 
terable love^ to keep the devil from thus defeating the 
plan of salvation^ He told them He would go away when 
they murdered His body^ and send the Holy Ghost, who 
has no human body, and consequently cannot be killed. 
He positively certifies (John 16) that the Holy Ghost is 
His successor on the earth, to carry on His work till He 
returns in His glory. Hence practically the Holy Ghost 
is the head of the church, making some apostles, somo 
prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers 
unto the perfection of the saints in the work of the 
ministry, into the edification of the body of Christ until 



Jesus Preaching in Galilee, 73 

we may all arrive into the unity of faith and of the per- 
fect knowledge of the Son of God^ into a perfect man. 
into the measure of a stature of the fulness of Christ 
in order that we may no longer be infants^ tossed about 
and carried away by every wind of teaching at the 
caprice of men in their craftiness unto the method of 
delusion^ but speaking the truth in love we may grow 
up in Him in all things^ who is the head^ Christy, from 
whom the whole body assimilated and knitted together 
from every joint of the. supply according to the working 
of the measure of every part^ maketh the increase of the 
body unto the edification of itself in divine love (Eph. 
4:11-16. Thus we see that Christ never dedicated His 
church to any human succession. The apostle is the 
pioneer^ the prophet has the enduement of the Spirit 
to witness for Jesus (Eev. 19:10). The evangelist is 
the fire-baptized preacher^ hewing his way through the 
phalanx of Satan ; the teacher is the faithful instructor 
of the Lord^s disciples in His precious Word^ while the 
pastor is the diligent leader and keeper of the flock. 
We have no authority outside of God^s Word. It not 
only covers all the ground^ but pronounces withering 
anathemas on all who have the audacity to add to or 
take from (Eev. 22:18, 19.) The great trouble with the 
churchisms of the day is their apparently incorrigible 
propensity to usurp and grieve away the Holy Ghost, 
who is the only head of the true gospel church. He 
calls and sends whom He will. If you want a N"ew Tes- 
tament ordination, you have nothing to do but have the 
«aints gather about you, mid fasting and prayer, lay 
hands on you, thus invoking the Holy Ghost to descend 
on you, fill you completely, possess you, and empower 



74 Life of Jesus and His Apostles. 

you for the work He has called you to do. John Wesley 
realized much difficulty, as his preachers were not or- 
dained, neither could he prevail on the church to ordain 
them, consequently he consecrated Dr. Coke to the supei- 
intendency of the American work. He came over and 
consecrated Asbury^ who ordained four thousand Meth- 
odist preachers in his long and useful life. In this way 
the Methodist church was originally launched in Amer- 
ica. Hence ycu see the holiness people have as much 
•gilt to ordination as the Methodists or any other de- 
nomination. God still lives, rules His church, and will 
not relegate His authority to another. He wants all the 
help He can get to save a sinking world. "Who will 
then consecrate himself to the Lord?^' 

Jesus, with the twelve whom He had called, having 
spent a night at prayer on the Mount of Beatitudes, 
sends them forth, Simon Peter, James the son of Zebe- 
dee, John the brother of James; and He conferred on 
them the name, Boanerges, which is Sons of Thunder; 
Andrew and Philip and Bartholomew, Matthew, Thom- 
as, James the son of Alpheus, and Thaddeus and Simon 
the Zelot, and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed Him. 
After a night of prayer and the selection of the twelve in 
the early morning^ having descended from the summit, 
down to the broad table-land on the slope, He observes a 
mighty host, not only from all parts of Judea and Gali- 
lee, but from Tyre and Sidon — large Gentile cities on 
the Mediterranean coast — as usual He indulges in 
works of mercy, casting out the demons and healing the 
sick; so there was a tremendous pressure all rushing 
that they might touch Him, because the power continued 
to go out from Him and heal all who came In contact 



Jesus Preaching in Galilee, 75 

with Him. He has now reached a most important cr'tis 
in His work. Having called and commissioned the 
twelve;, it is transcendently pertinent that they were in- 
structed in the great fundamentals of His kingdom, 
which they are to preach to all the world when He shall 
have gone hack to heaven. Consequently^ leaving the 
multitudes^ He went back to the mountain summit, ac- 
companied by His disciples^ as the occasion is for their 
especial benefit. The multitude, however, have already 
become so interested that they follow on, determined to 
hear more of that truth^ scintillations of which have 
already thrilled them with enthusiasm. Now He deliv- 
ers that celebrated Sermon on the Mount, so deep, high 
and broad a^ to comprehend the whole plan of salvation, 
doctrine, experimental and practical. It is really a fo- 
calization of all truth,meeting every emergency and solv- 
ing every problem for time and eternity. '^'^Blessed are 
the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of the heav- 
ens.^^ The sinner is not only poor, but in absolute spir- 
itual desolation, so poor that pauperism does not com- 
prehend the appalling wretchedness and misery of 
his spiritual condition. Yet Satan and his myrmidons 
have him so blinded that he thinks he is rich and dreams 
he is a millionaire. 

The first blessing in the redemptive scheme is the 
conviction, which reveals to the sinner his poverty; a 
blessing sure enough, because the kingdom of the heav- 
ens is his, if he will only receive it. "Blessed are they 
that mourn, because they shall be comforted.^^ How 
pertinent does this blessing come to the convicted sinner 
mourning for salvation; and the illuminated Christian 
mourning for a clean heart ! "Blessed are the meek, for 



76 Life of Jesus and His Apostles. 

they shall inherit the earth/^ Meekness is that beautiful 
grace of perfect humility^ which sinks us deep down into 
the will of God^ so that losing sight of all the world, 
we desire nothing but God. Satan has the world (2 Cor. 
4 :4) and rules it with a rod of iron ; consequently God^s 
meek and lowly pilgrims of sorrow and suffering have a 
hard time. But our Lord is coming again on the ^ain^ 
bow of triumph^ to dethrone Satan^ take him and all his 
myrmidons out of the worlds and give the whole earth 
to His saints^ while His glory will envelop the globe 
as the waters cover the sea. "Blessed are they that hun- 
ger and thirst after righteousness^ for they shall be 
filled/^ The King of Glory has come down^ redeemed 
earth^s lost millions with his bloody conquered all our 
enemies, swept away our poverty, and girdled the world 
with his table, groaning beneath the luxuries and delica- 
cies of his kingdom. We have nothing to do but come to 
the table and help ourselves. The angels are hovering 
around, swift to wait on us with the ambrosia of heaven^ 
the fatted calf, the manna in the golden pot, and all the 
fruits of Canaan. Why will you not all eat to glutten- 
ous and drink to drunkenness, and revel in all the luxu- 
ries of this wonderful and wonderful full salvation? 
^^Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy. ^' 
When you reach this blessing your cloven hoofs and 
horns all drop off, and you sink away into love for every 
body and every thing that has feeling. Your cow, horse, 
dog, chickens and your neighbors will soon find it out. 
These blessings are beautifully accumulative, exhibiting 
a golden concatenation mounting up like an Egyptian 
pyramid, till heaven looms in view, and the angels edify 
you with their melodious anthemr ^ml golden harps ; so 



Jesus Preaching in Galilee. 77 

the blessing of mercy is the ante-chamber to that of a 
clean heart. "Blessed are the pure in hearty because they 
shall see God/^ Your heart is your spiritual beings your 
immortal self, liable any moment to evacuate this body 
and stand in the presence of the Almighty, who hath 
decreed^ "Without holiness no one shall see the Lord/^ 
A pure heart has no sin in any form nor phase; no 
pride, vanity, anger, wrath, malice, envj^, jealousy, re- 
venge, bigotry, prejudice, lust, covetousness, ambition^ 
or love of the world. All these are members of the old 
man (Col. 3), who must be crucified or utterly destroyed 
(Rom. 6). Sin^s annihilation is utterly washed away 
by the cleansing blood, consumed by the fires of the 
Holy Ghost, thus superinducing an uttermost salvation 
and bringing in the wonderful experience of a clean 
heart. Good Lord, help us all to get it and abide in the 
experience till translated from earth to heaven ! "Bles- 
sed are the peaee-makers, for they shall be called the sons 
of God.^^ You see the beautiful logic of the Holy Ghost, 
which directly succeeds the blessing of a clean heart with 
that of a peace-maker. Every sinner in the world is in- 
volved- with an awful war witti God Almighty destined 
through <an awful defeat to an eternity of woe. When 
you get a clean heart, then you are ready to labor as a 
peace-maker, indefatigable and always bidding for a 
job on that line; not only making peace with God in 
behalf of condemned aliens^ but you become the herald 
of "peace on earth, and good will to man,^^ everywhere 
dispensing the sunshine of reconciliation, love, friend- 
ship and philanthropy with m^an and man. "Blessed 
are they that are persecuted for righteousness^ sake, for 
theirs is the kingdom of heaven^^ (Luke 6 :22). "Blessed 



78 Life of Jesus and His Apostles, 

are ye when the people may hate you^ and when they 
may turn you out of the churchy may despise and cast 
out your name as evil. Kejoice in that day and leap for 
joy; for behold your reward is great in heaven; for 
according to these things that their fathers did unto the 
prophets * * * woe unto you when all tlie people 
speak well of you; for according to these things their 
fathers were accustomed to do unto the false prophets/^ 
How beautifully and significantly do these things tower 
before us ! Here we have the grand culmination of a 
clean hearty followed by the blessing of soul-savings 
showing that you must have a clean heart if you would 
be an efficient soul saver. Last of all;, the pinnacle of the 
salvation pyramid is the blessing of persecution. The 
logic here is grand and beautiful. If you have not a 
clean heart and diligently working as a soul saver^ perse- 
cution will not be a blessing to you. What a glorious 
deliverance from all the troubles of life^ the dread of 
deaths hell and eternity^ are these blessings! Here we 
are actually commanded to leap for joy. The normal 
effect of this wonderful salvation is to kill out the man 
of sin^, thus making us 

So dead that no desire shall rise 
To pass for good or greater wise 
In any but my Savior^s eyes. 

How blessed to be utterly dead to what people may say 
about you^ or think of you ! The false prophets in the 
olden time aspired to popularity^ sacrificing duty to the 
praise of men. Matt. v. 13 : ^TTe are the salt of the 
earth/^ but if the salt s(hall lose savor^ with what shall 
it be salted ? It is good for nothing but to be cast out 



Jesiis Preaching in Galilee. 79 

and trodden under foot by the people. Eeligion is God^s 
salt to save the world. When it loses the Holy Ghost^ it 
no longer has any saving power. Savorless salt is the 
most worthless thing in the world. Throw it on the 
land and it alkilies the ground and ruins it ; it is really 
fit for nothing but to make walks. How strikingly 
significant these words of Jesus ! Y\Tien religion has 
lost the Holy Ghost^ then Satan uses it to make walks 
over which the people travel down to hell ! ^^Ye are the 
light of the world. * * * Let your light so shine before 
the people that they may see your good works and glorify 
your Father which is in the heavens.^^ If the salt were 
all out of the ocean^ its waters would stagnate^ generate 
malaria and depopulate the worlds destroying not only 
all the people^ but every air-breathing animal. Take all 
the Christians out of the world, and not a solitary ray 
of spiritual light is left ! We could see nothing on the 
earth, if it did not reflect solar light in some way. The 
great Son of Eighteousness has gone up to heaven, but 
He has left His disciples to reflect His light upon the 
guilty millions of lost immortals on all sides walking 
in Satan^s midnight down to endless ruin. ^'^Think not 
that I came to destroy the law of the prophets : I came 
not to destroy, but to fulfill. * * * For I say unto you 
that unless your righteousness abound more than the 
scribes and Pharisees you cannot enter the kingdom of 
heaven.^^ The ceremonial law of bloody sacrifices was 
all fulfilled when He bled and died on the cross. All 
the blood and water catechisms are fulfilled in the dis- 
pensation of the Holy Ghost. "^^Love is the fulfilling of 
the law^^ (Eom. 13 :10). We must appropriate these posi- 
tive and definite declarations of the Savior. He died 



80 Life of Jesus and His Apostles. 

tinder the law to atone for our sins, because the law 
could not be broken with impunity, the flippancy of 
which this day characterizes the popular pulpit, wink- 
ing at sin and its consequences, compromising with the 
world, the flesh and the devil; ^^crying peace, peace, 
when there is no peace/^ It is at once disgusting and 
appalling, telling sinners that they are "^"^not under the 
law, but under grace,^^ which is not true. The law says, 
^'^The soul that sinneth it shall die/^ Every soul is amen- 
able to the law till the man of sin dies (E/om. 6:6), The 
man of grace is not under the law. Perfect love fulfills 
the law. The scribes were the popular preachers, and the 
Pharisees were the leading church members in our Sa- 
vior^ s time. But they were dead and formal, like so 
many of their successors nowadays ; hence we see that if 
we do not get something better than the popular religion, 
even as represented by the pastors and ruling elders, we 
will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Matt. 5 :21-26 
gives a paragraph involving sundry responsibilities 
amenable to Jewish criminal adjudication and symboliz- 
ing infinitely greater condemnation before the tribunal 
of heavenly jurisprudence (v. 22). "But I say unto 
3^ou that every one who is angry with his brother shall 
be liable to the judgment.^^ E. V. erroneously inserted 
the clause, "Without a cause,^^ which does not appear in 
the original. Every human being is your brother. An- 
ger is the spirit of murder, hence if you would be guilt- 
less before the law of Grod^ you must get rid of all anger, 
in the glorious experience of entire sanctification. We 
here see that the gate of mercy is forever closed against 
the person who has aught against any human being. 
This unforgiving spirit fills the church with backsliders, 



Jesus Preaching in Galilee, 81 

makes the home a pandemonium and the world a hell. 
Ver&e 25. In this verse the Mediatorial Christ is the 
adversary^ doing his utmost to arrest every hellward- 
bound soul in his mad rush to destruction. The Judge 
is the Judicial Christy at whose tribunal every soul 
who rejects His mediatorial mercy must soon give an 
awful account of a wicked life. The officer is none other 
than Satan, the king of hell, to whom the interceding 
Savior delivers all unsavable souls, while the prison here 
mentioned is the awful black abyss of a bottomless hell. 
The paragraph (vs. 27-30) describes the dark iniquity 
of the heart, adultery, at the same time exhorting every 
human being to stand aloof from it, even at the cost 
of the right eye and the right hand, the alternative be- 
ing the ejectment of the soul and body into hell. Yerse 
32, condemning the man who marries the divorced wo- 
man is an erroneous translation, as apolelumeneen does 
not mean a divorced woman, but simply ^^Tiaving been 
cast off,^^ e. g., whom the angry, oppressive husband 
drives away from home. There is no information in the 
case that she has a right to a divorcement; but while 
that is an open question, it is certiain she has not re- 
ceived it. Therefore she is still the wife of her tyranni- 
cal husband, who mal-treated and drove 'her away; con- 
sequently the man marrying her is criminal of adultery, 
because she is another man^s wife. Since the force of a 
Scriptural divorce is the nullification of the matrimonial 
covenant, and the restoration of the parties to celibacy, 
when it is really Scriptural and legal, the normal sig- 
nification is to render the party marriageable again. 
Verses 33-37. Our Lord condemns all profanity, and 
even all superfluent words and phrases, as coming from 



82 Life of Jesus and His Apostles, 

the evil one^ i. e.^, the devil. Verses 38-42. He forever 
sweeps away the lex talionis, i. e.^ the law of retaliation 
in all its forms and phases^, explicitly exhorting all of 
His disciples to love their enemies^ lend to the poor 
without any probability of reciprocation^ in order that 
we may be the children of our Heavenly Father^, who 
sends down rain and sunshine on the picked as well as 
the good^ closing up the loving exhortation by that thril- 
ling commandment^ ^^Therefore ye shall be perfect as 
your Father which is in heaven is perf ect.^^ Luke paral- 
els it^ "^^Be merciful as your Father which is merciful.^^ 
As mercy is, the normal fruit of love in all ages and na- 
tions^ the meaning of this strong and beautiful com- 
mandment is identical with the grand leader of the dec- 
alogue^ enjoining perfect love to God and man. It is 
impossible to love the Lord with all the heart when any 
part of the spiritual .being is occupied by an alien. 
Hence entire sanctification is the negative^ and perfect 
love the positive hemisphere of full salvation. The Greek 
^^perfect^^ is teleive, from telos, the end; therefore it 
m.eans a finished salvation. Christ came to destroy the 
works of the devil (1 John 3:8). All sin is the work 
of the devil. When Jesus completes His work^ He ut- 
terly exterminates it out of our spiritual organism 
(Matt. 6:1-7). Our Lord warns us against all ostenta- 
tious display and vain glory^ affirming that the hypo- 
crites who hold up before the world a gaudy^ showy re- 
ligion exhaust their reward^ i. e.^ get it all here^ the 
praise of the people^ and have none left for eternity. He 
also warns us against vain repetitions in our prayers and 
speeches reminding us that the lightning and not the 
thunder does all the execution. In connection with this 



Jesus Preaching in Galilee. 83 

warning against empty repetitions, He even favors us 
with the form of the prayer we are to use till He conies 
in His glory. The great salient facts prominent in that 
prayer is our constant petition of the Father in the name 
of the Son by the power of the Spirit to give us grace 
to do His will on earth, as the angels and redeemed 
saints do it in heaven, which simply means to grant unto 
us the perpetual experience of entire sanctification ( 1 
Thess. 4 :3). ''This is His will, your sanctification/' The 
concomitant petition with the above, is ''thy kingdom 
come/' This prayer is not given to sinners, but to our 
Savior's disciples; all of whom are citizens of the king- 
dom of grace, having it already established in their 
hearts and verified in their lives. Hence the kingdom 
for which we are to pray night and day is none other 
than the glorious millennial theocracy, which the Lord 
will bring with Him when He comes in the splendor of 
His matchless glory. Another climacteric idiom of this 
universal prayer is^ "Deliver us from the evil one,^' i. e., 
from the devil. The E. V. here is too weak, giving the 
abstract, when the Greek has the concrete, setting forth 
the transcendent reality that it is the glorious privilege 
of every disciple to get rid of the devil altogether, 
so he will never again be permitted to come in shooting 
distance. To be sure he will shoot at you, but will waste 
all of his ammunition. Verses 16-18. Our Lord here 
again warns us against a religion consisting of external 
show, pomp and pageantry; but destitute of the spirit- 
ual reality. Verses 19-23. Importunate warnings 
against laying up treasures on earth where moth and 
rust and thieves will get them. But He pours His burn- 
ing emphasis in solemn warnings to all of His disciples 



84 Life of Jesus and His Apostles. 

to lay up their treasures in heaven, where they will nev- 
er peris-h, but accumulate new beauty and value, which 
will never end till eternity sweeps along. The meaning 
of this grand admonition is that the spiritual shall for- 
ever predominaite over the material. We can take none 
of the latter with us when we go, hence we can lay up 
nothing in heaven but immortal souls; ^therefore, in 
these alone should we make our investment. Verses 
24-34: is a burning appeal following the preceding para- 
graph as a legitimate corroUary, reminding us of the 
impossibility to serve two masters, i. e., God and man. 
The mission of Jesus on earth was only to do His Fath- 
er's will. It is equally true of all His disciples. We 
have nothing to do in this earthly life, but glorify Grod 
by helping Jesus to save the sinking, millions of a dying 
world. He challenges us to look at the fowls of the air, 
for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; 
also to gaze upon the beautiful lilies of the field, so 
nice and white as to remind us of earthly purity and 
glory, at the same time assuring us that God will feed 
us like the birds land clothe us like the lilies. Of all the 
kings who ever lived, Solomon was the most glorious, yet 
our Lord certifies that even Solomon in all his glory, fell 
behind the lilies, in the splendor and beauty of his re- 
galia. He condemns all 'solicitude about transitory 
things. He wants us to be free as the birds, simple and 
beautiful as the lilies, utterly unencumbered with transi- 
tory things, so we can at all times be at -our best for God, 
souls and heaven, exhorting us to seek the kingdom of 
God first, assuring us that all of these other things, i. e., 
temporal contingencies, shall be added unto us. 

Luke 6 :37-42. He admonishes us against a critical 



Jesus Preaching in Galilee. 85 

'disposition^ condemnatory in our attitude towards oth- 
. ers, as Paul said, '"Wcio art thou that judgeth another 
man^s servant? to his own master he standeth or fall- 
«th/' He exhort-s to us liberality in measuring and 
weighing, assuring us that the same will be weighed and 
measured back to us. He gives us solemn warnings 
against blind guides, assuring us that the guide and his 
followers will fall into the ditch (i. e., hell) together. 
^The disciple is not above his teacher ; but everyone who 
has been made perfect shall be like his teacher.^^ His 
omnipotent grace amply provides for the protection of 
all His disciples. Why are we, then, like Him? Be- 
cause He has no sin. When He makes us perfect. He 
takes it all out of us, so that we become the participants 
of His own purity. Here again He warns us against the 
hypocrite, who will see the mote in the eye of the Lord^s 
perfect disciple, while he has a beam in his own eye. 
The mote here means the infirmity which inheres in th-e 
sanctified till this mortal puts on immortality. Glori- 
fication wrought by the Holy Ghost is the only deliver- 
ance froni all infirmities. Sanctification takes awaj 
nothing but sin, leaving the infirmities for the final con- 
servation work of the glorification. You see here thai 
the critic, who is none other than an anti-holiness pro- 
fessor, denominated a hypocrite by the Savior, has a 
beam in his own eye. That beam is inbred sin, which 
will drag him into hell if he does not get rid of it ; while 
the mote does not hurt the eye, neither does it keep any- 
body out of heaven. 

Matt. 7 :6. ^^Give not that which is holy to the dogs, 
neither cast your pearls before the swine ; lest they may 
trample them under feet, turning may tear you into 



86 Life of Jesus and His Apostles. 

pieces/^ Dogs and horses are iiiicleaii animals, here sig- 
nifying carnal people. This warning should constantly 
be heeded, lest we forfeit our opportunities of doing 
good by falling into these fatal mistakes. Hence you 
see we should not cast the pearls of holiness before dead 
professors and wicked worldlings, as in that case we 
would do them no good and only cause them to commiit 
sin by rejecting the truth. Much valuable ammunition 
is thus wasted on dead game. Sanctification is only for 
the citizens of the kingdom, repentance being the gospel 
for aliens. 

We now have 'a series of exceedingly preeious prom- 
ises, i. e., ^^Ask, and it shall be given unto you ; seek and 
you shall find; knock and it shall be opened unto you. 
* * * if then you being evil, know how to give good 
gifts to your children, how much more does j^our Father 
who is in heaven know how to give good things to them 
that ask Him T^ Lord, inspire the omnipotent faith of ev- 
eryone who reads these promises to receive and appropri- 
ate them in spite of sin, doubt and the devil ! Verse 12. 
^^Therefore all things whatsoever joii may wish that the 
people do unto you, do you also unto them : for this is 
the law and the prophets.^^ The Old Testament revealed 
in beautiful symbolism, everything revealed in fact in 
the New Testament, hence you see how the great law of 
reciprocity really solves the entire problem of human 
life, duty and responsibility. Verses 13, 14. 

^^Broad is the road that leads to death, 
And thousands walk together there ; 

While wisdom shows a narrow path. 
With here and there a traveler.^^ 
This is the King^s highway of holiness (Tsa. 



Jesus Preaching in Galilee, 87 

35). It is so narrow that there is only room 
for a human soul^ unencumbered by sin and the 
worlds to travel over it. Our Lord follows this stupen- 
dous affirmation by six verses^ all devoted to solemn 
warnings to "beware of false prophets.^^ Who are these 
false prophets ? The connection shows clearly that they 
are counterfeit preachers^ who broaden the way;, thus 
deceiving heaven-bound pilgrims and dragging them 
into hell. When^ in the light of God^s Word and Spirit, 
we look around and see fallen churches and false proph- 
ets on all sides^ as Jesus says^ "Only one here and there 
traveling the narrow way.^^ The Protestant churches 
are fast becoming a wreck in the track of Eomanism. 
60 corrupt as to alarmingly verify the prophesy of the 
Holy Ghost through Paul (1 Tim. 4:1)— "The Spirit 
positively says that some will depart from the faith^ 
giving heed to seducing spirits and the teaching of de- 
mons.^^ 2 Tim. 3 :1. "Know this^, that in the last days 
perilous times shall come * * * having a form of god- 
liness and denying the power of the same; from these 
turn away.^^ Chapter 4 :3. "For the time will come when 
they will not endure sound doctrine^ but according to 
their own lust will heap to themselves teachers having 
itching ears^ and will turn their hearing from the truth 
and be turned into fables."'^ We are now living among 
the sad fulfillment of the awful prophesies uttered by 
Jesus and Paul. In countless instances at the present 
day^ the churches take the bit in their teeth and dictate 
to the preacher. If he does not prophecy "smooth 
things/^ they will withhold their support and send him 
away. Oh^ how few preachers are now actually walk- 
ing in the narrow way^ saying to their members, "Fol- 



88 Life of Jesus and His Apostles. 

low me as I follow the Lord!^^ The people turn with 
di-sgust from the narrow way^ demand of their preachers 
carnal freedom. The pastor who will let his members 
slip thraugh his fingers into hell with least friction^ is 
most popular. Verses 21-23. Our Lord gives us a vivid 
judgment scene, portraying these false prophets, i. e., 
counterfeit preachers, whose name is legion, coming up 
and standing before the great white throne, presenting 
their commendatory claims for acquittal, reward and 
heavenly promotion ; ^^Lord, Lord, have we not prophe^ 
sied in thy name, and in thy name cast out demons, and 
in thy name done many mighty works? Then will I 
testify unto them, I have never known ye ; depart from 
me, ye who^ work iniquity.^^ These preachers have occu- 
pied prominent positions in the churches, been loved 
and appreciated by their people, made many converts, 
built fine churches, represented their people in the great 
and honorable councils. They live and die feeling sure 
that they are right; they come up to judgment in thecon- 
fiding egotism in which they have lived, there to find 
out the appalling secret that Satan, arrayed as an angel 
of light, had called them to the ministry. They have 
preached his gospel, pleased, deceived and damned mul- 
titudes who followed them and applauded their able 
anti-holiness sermons. Now, when it is eternally too late, 
they find out the awful and fatal mistake. Eeader, I 
am not drawing on my imagination. The connection 
shows that these are the false prophets who preach a 
broad way to heaven. They are all around us. We live 
in an age of fallen churches and false prophets. Verses 
24-29. Now Jesus winds up this wonderful Sermon on 
the Mount of Beatitudes, vividly contrasting the maD 



Jesus Preaching in Galilee, 89 

who hears His word and does it, with the man who hears 
and does not; the former builds his house upon the 
rock, the winds howl, tempests roar, hurricanes sweep, 
floods come down, cyclones desolate, yet the super- 
structure stands impregnable, because it is built on the 
eternal foundation of the earth. The word translated 
"rock^^ (E. V.) is petra, which really means the vast 
unbroken foundation of the earth, holding up all the 
mountains, seas and oceans, and (Matt. 16:18) appliei 
to Christ Himself. The metaphor applied in this coun- 
try might be criticised, as we can build no house which 
would absolutely be proof against perpetual storms and 
floods. This is not so in the Holy Land^ where the houses 
are solid stone from foundation to the flat stone roof, 
and all consolidated by calcareous and bituminous ce- 
ment, so that the house is like a native lime-stone rock 
as old as creation. On the contrary the man who hears 
the words of Jesus and does them not, builds his house 
upon the sand ; the floods undermind it and the storms 
capsize it, and the ruin is irretrievable. Verse 28. It 
came to pass when Jesus finished these speeches, the 
multituds were astonished by His teaching, for He was 
teaching them as one having authority, and not as the 
scribes. You see what a decisive contrast between Him 
and the scribes, who were the popular preachers, and ig- 
norant of the Holy Ghost, whom Jesus received when 
John baptized Him. So it is the person nowadays 
who has not received the Holy Ghost as an indwelling 
Sanctifier and Comforter, preaches after the forceless 
style of the -scribes and! other unsanctified people. Here 
we see the reason why Jesus forbade His own apostles 
to go out under the commission until they received the 



90 Life of Jesus and His Apostles, 

Holy Ghost. Oh^ what a mistake is made by not tarry- 
ing at Jerusalem till Jesus baptizes with the Holy Ghost 
and fire. Without this^ there will be little or no force 
in the preaching. 

The Mount of Beatitude^ hangs over Capernaum 
from her north. Then the Lord descends into the city^ 
the elders importune Him^ in behalf of the centurion^ 
who had built them a synagogue that He should go at 
once and heal his servant^ as he esteemed him very 
highly^ and he was about to die. While Jesus is going 
with the elders to the centurion^s house^ he sent a mes- 
senger to Him to stop Him^ entreating Him to forbear 
making the trip to his house^ but only to speak a word 
and it vrill be done accordingly ;, ipse dixit; observing 
I am a man under authority^ having soldiers under me; 
I say to this one, ^^go, and he goeth ; to that one, come, 
and he cometh; and to another, do this, and he doeth 
it.^^ The faith of this heathen man astonished Jesus, 
who, turning to the multitude following, said, "I have 
not found so great faith in Israel.^^ The centurion was 
then on duty as an officer in the Roman army, and 
doubtless had often heard Jesus preach on the street, as 
He had already preached a whole year in Galilee, making 
His headquarters in that city. Now let us see the real at- 
titude of the centurion^s faith^ which our Lord so highly 
commends. His faith arose in him like a giant and said, 
^^Precisely as I command soldiers and the stern Eoman 
law forces them to obey me promptly, or lose their heads. 
so you command diseases to get out of the body and de- 
mons to evacuate the soul and they are forced by the laws 
of heaven to obey you. Consequently he looked upon the 
visit of Jesus to his house as a superfluity. Though the 



Jesus Preaching in Galilee. 91 

Lord halted and went on other errands of mercy^ those 
who had carried the centnrion^s message to Him return- 
ed to his house and found his servant well. Lord help 
us to have faith in thee like this heathen soldier ! Luke 
7:1-10; Matt. 8:11^ *^*^And I say unto you many will 
come from the East and from the West^ and sit down 
with Abraham^ Isaac and Jacobs in the kingdom of 
Heaven^ but the sons of the Kingdom shall be cast out 
into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnash- 
ing of teeth.^^ This was true in case of Cornelius with 
multitudes of Gentiles^ destined soon to follow him into 
the Kingdom; while the Jews^ with all their light and 
opportunities^, led astray by the corrupt clergy ;, werei* 
ruined for time and eternity. This same prophecy of my 
Lord is this day receiving an awful fulfillment^ as we 
see multiplied tho-usands of the children of all the 
churches^ going away into sin^ worldliness and infideli- 
ty^ and hell^ while the heathens are coming to the lights 
responding to the call of gospel grace and getting saved 
by thousands^ v. 13. Jesus said to the centurion^ ^'^Go, 
and as thou believe be it done unto thee.^^ Here you see 
omnipotence of faith^ both for soul and body. The bank 
of faith cannot be broken. Your faith is absolutely the 
measuring line of your salvation. Jesus now leaves 
Capernaum^ accompanied by the newly installed Twelve, 
and a vast multitude. In the city N"ain on the North- 
ern slopes of Mt. Eamouth-gilead, a poor widow with 
broken heart is following her only son to the tomb. 
Her piteous wails have reverberated through the air for- 
ty miles to Capernaum. The tender heart of Jesus 
reciprocates w^ith loving sympathy. Already the pro- 
cession following the bier is passed beyond the wall. 



92 Life of Jesus and His Apostles, 

crossed the stone bridge, over a ravine and are slowly 
marching away to the sepulchre in the mountain's crag ; 
when Jesus^ accompanied by His disciples, comes up, 
falls in front of the bier, motions to the pall-bearers 
to sit it down. He now lifts the pall from the face of the 
dead, takes the corpse by the hand, and speaks with a 
voice that makes the mountain tremble, "Young man, 
I say unto thee, arise/' Lifting him up, he opens his 
eyes, sees his mother and falls into her embrace. Mean- 
while the whole multitude is wonderfully excited, rush 
forward, climb surrounding heights, to see what is the 
matter. So fast as they find out what has been done, 
they all throw their mouths wide open, and shout 
uproariously, "Glory to God in the highest, who has sent 
a prophet into Israel, who has power to speak the dead 
to life again!'' Now the whole city is aroused by the 
roaring shout, dumbfounded and perplexed to explain 
the phenomenon, they soliloquized, "What can it be? 
"Whoever heard a great shout at a funeral? Why, that 
is the place of weeping." Now they mount the flat roofs 
of the houses and stretch their eyes to see what is the 
matter. By this time the whole procession in wild, irreg- 
ular, roaring confusion, is moving back to the city. Soon 
they recognize the young man and his mother heading 
the procession, and all the balance following with tre- 
mendous shouts. How wonderful was the loving pity of 
my Lord, to walk forty miles to Nain and then forty 
back to Capernaum, all to gladden the broken heart of 
that widowed mother, as well as to reveal His stupend- 
ous mercy to the world, Luke 7 :11-17. We now see Je- 
sus accosted by two of the disciples of John the Baptist, 
whom he had sent all the way from his prison in Macher- 



Jesus Preaching in Galilee. 93 

us cm the Dead Sea under the shadow of Mt. Pisgah, in 
the Land of Moab^ about two hundred miles to inquire 
of Jesus^ "Art thou He whoi is comings or must we look 
for another ?^^ Jesus simply responds to them^ "Go tell 
John the things which you have seen and heard; the 
blind see^ the lame walk;, the lepers are cleansed^ the deaf 
hear^ the dead are raised up, the poor have the gospel 
preached unto them; and blessed is he, whosoever may. 
not be offended in me/^ 

The reader intuitively propounds the questions, "Why 
did John send those disciples ? Had he who had intro- 
duced Jesus to the world as the Christ fallen into doubt ? 
Or was it to satisfy His doubting disciples ?^^ It was 
neither of these. I have no idea that either John or his 
disciples entertained doubts about the Christhood of 
Jesus. Then, why did he send them? I trow it was to 
evoke from Him a public announcement of his Christ- 
hood. John had already spent about fourteen months 
in that loathsome prison. He felt anxious for Jesus to 
bring his enterprise to a crisis. While He was dazzling 
the eye of tlie world with the wisdom of His preaching 
and the majesty of His miracles, He. had not yet openly 
declared His Christhood among the Jews. (1) If He 
had, they would have crowned Him King, and the Eo- 
mans Avould have killed Him. (2) Doubtless in His 
infallible wisdom, He preferred to let His mighty works 
convince them of His divinity, in the absence of open 
avowal on His part. The arrival of John^s messengers, 
incidently brought up the subject of John^s ministry, 
which the multitudes then hanging spell-bound on His 
lips could never forget. Here He certifies to them the 
pre-eminence of John the Baptist above all the prophets 



94 Life of Jesus and His Apostles. 

who had preceded Him^ but puzzles them and many 
in our day by certifying, ^^that the least in the King- 
dom of Heaven, is greater than he/^ i. e., dispensation — 
by greater, as John lived and died in the days of the 
law and the prophets, on the normal plain of justifica- 
tion; though he and other patriarchs and prophets en- 
joyed proliptical sanctification ; whereas the Pentecost 
of dispensation is entirely on the normal plain of sanc- 
tification. He also reminds them that John was the 
last prophet of the old dispensation, succeeded by the 
Kingdom of God, i. e., the gospel dispensation. He also 
reminds them how all the people and even the' publicans 
justified God, being baptized by John ; but the Pharisees 
and Theologians rejected the counsel of God against 
them, not being baptized by him. The truth of it iSj 
John publicly insulted them, calling them a *^'generation 
of vipers,^^ at the same time positively refusing to bap- 
tize them unless they showed up satisfactory symptoms 
of repentance, which they failed to do, consequently for- 
feiting the blessing of His baptism. Now Jesus likens 
the present to little children, sitting in the forum calling 
to one another, and saying, '^^We have piped unto you 
and you have not danced; we have mourned unto you 
and you have not wept.^^ For John the Baptist came 
neither eating bread nor drinking wine, and you say he 
hath a demon. The son of man eating 'and drinking, 
and you say: ^*^Behold a man gluttenous and drinking 
wine a friend of publicans and sinners.^^ But wisdom 
is justified o:^ her children, Luke 7 :18-35. While Jesus 
was begotten by the Holy Ghost, John was born of sup- 
erannuated parents who were re-invigorated by the di- 
rect intervention of the Holy Spirit. Hence they were 



Jesus Preaching in Galilee. 95 

both truly the children of the Holy Ghost here personi- 
fied by wisdom^ one of his attributes. While it is tru€ 
in a concrete sense^, that Jesus and John were the chil- 
dren of the Holy Ghost^ it is equally true in an abstraci 
sense^ as John represents the old dispensation and being 
the last of the prophets, typifies the death of that dis- 
pensation, while Jesus really and practically inaugur- 
ated the new, currently designated the Kingdom of 
God, in contradistinction to the theocracy under the law 
and prophets. There is in this symbolism, presented by 
our Lord, a most vivid exenlplification of Christian ex- 
perience. We must all have our funeral and our wed- 
ding, if we would enjoy a place in the bridehood of 
Christ. Our old husband, Adam the First, must die and 
be buried, before we can get married to our new Lover. 
Adam the Second ; the crucifixion of the old man being 
the negative side of sanctification and our marriage tc 
Christ the positive. It is a notable fact here, that these 
children were only playing funeral and wedding; a€ 
there was nothing of the kind on hand. This fact re- 
mands us of the shoddy professions, so prevalent in every 
age; people on all sides professing to be dead to sin. 
when really they are not dead, and sin funeral with them 
is only a sham; while it is equally true that they pro- 
fess to be married to Christ, when their lives sadly show 
that they still have worldly lovers, but it is not true of 
married people. How sad to ^see so much sham profes- 
sion, claiming to being dead to sin w*hen they are not; 
and married to Christ, which their lives show to be a 
sad mistake. 

Jesus is now in Capernaum, the central city of all 
His Galilean evangelistic peregrinations ; in full view of 



96 Life of Jesus and His Apostles. 

Chorazin, Bethsaida;, Tyberius and many other cities 
dotting the coast of that memorable sea^ which wit- 
nessed most of His mighty works^ Matt. 11 :20-24. Now 
he breaks out into most awful anathemas and wither- 
ing woes against those cities^ because they did not re- 
pent under His preaching. ^^Woe unto thee, Chorazin ! 
Woe unto thee, Bethsaida ! because if the mighty works 
which have been performed in you, had been in Sodom 
and Gomorrah, they would have repented long ago in 
sack-cloth and ashes. Moreover, I say unto you, it will be 
more tolerant for Tyre and Sidon on the day of Judg- 
ment than for you.^^ Chorazin was a flourishing city 
twenty miles away on the slopes of Mt. Anti-Lebanon, in 
full view and very conspicuous from the Sea of Galilee. 
Bethsaida stood on the north-east coast of the &ea, about 
eight miles from Capernaum. Pursuant to these 
blighting woes, both of these cities went into utter deso- 
lation, and so remained through the ages. Bethsaida 
is still desolate without an inhabitant. It was the hon- 
ored birthplace of Peter, Andrew and Philip. A few 
years ago a Jewish colony dropped down on the sike of 
Old Chorazin, and, like all other places whither they 
emigrate, made it boom. ViTien I saw it in 1899, it 
was very prosperous, containing: twenty-four thousand 
inhabitants. The reason v/hy tho doom of these Jew- 
ish cities, in the Judgment day, will be infinitely more 
awful than that of Tyre and Sidon, is because they are 
Gentile cities, and never heard the gospel. Though 
they were awfully wicked and terribly anathematized 
by the old prophets, yet they never had the light of re- 
vealed truth. Prom this you see there will be a diversity 
of judgmeiats in the great day ; those who have rejected 



Jesus Preacliing in Galilee. 97 

most lights receiving the most terrible retributions. 
^'And thoU;, Capernaum^ who art exalted iip to Heaven, 
shall be cast down to hell; because if the mighty works 
which were wrought in thee had been among the Sodom- 
ites they would have remained to this day. Moreover, 
I say unto you it will bemore tolerable for the land of the 
Sodomites than for thee.^^ The reason why Capernaum 
is said to have been exalted up to heaven, was because 
the Lord of heaven lived there. Consequently the peo- 
ple walking in the brightest light and rejecting it, sink 
into the darkest hell. Sodom and Gomorrah, like Tyre 
and Sidon, were heathen cities, among the first founded 
after the flood ; the former in the beautiful rich Vale of 
Siddim, lying between the great mountains of Moab on 
the east and Canaan on the west, and bordering on the 
Salt Sea. 

Four times have I passed through that country. It is 
now a desert waste, the effect of the awful woe which 
God sent upon them in the days of Abraham. Here 
Jesus rejoices that the deep things of God are hidden 
from the worldly wise and the prudent, and revealed 
unto the simple-hearted, humble, meek and lowly babes 
in Christ. Matt. 11:28. ^^Cpme unto me all ye that 
labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.^^ 
This is the rest of pardon, free for all broken-hearted 
penitents who are laboring to save their own souls, which 
is an utter impossibility; and yet the normal effect of 
a true conviction, ^^'^take my yoke upon you and learn 
of me, because I am meek, lowly in heart ; and you shall 
find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy and my 
burden is light/^ This is the second rest, vividly and 
clearly contrasted with the first, which is rest from 



98 Life of Jesus and His Apostles. 

sin^ and the second is the repose of the soul, resting 
sweetly, when all its enemies have been turned out. 
The old Methodists all made an irrefragible argument 
for the two works of grace from this scripture. Luke 
7 :36-50. While Jesus responds to the kind invitation of 
a kind Pharisee to dine with him, a poor prostitute, who 
had been converted under his preaching on the street, 
m.anages to slip in with the crowd, unobserved, as the 
Pharisee would certainl}^ have prohibited her from en- 
tering his house if he had known it. While eating with 
his left side to the table and his feet accessible from 
without, he recognizes the presence of the woman, bath- 
ing his feet with her tears, wiping them with the hairs 
of her head and anointing them with myrrh. The solu- 
tion is the simple fact that her heart was so flooded 
with loving gratitude that when she stooped down to 
anoint his feet, her grateful tears spontaneously poured 
forth, copiously irrigating them. Then, feeling that she 
had somewhat polluted them, she seeks to purify them 
by wiping away the tears with her flowing hair. Now 
Jesus interviews his landlord in reference to the two 
debtors, the one owing him five hundred denaria, (i. e.. 
seventy-five dollars) ; and the other fifty, (i. e., $7.50). 
When the creditor freely forgave them both he proceeded 
to interrogate him; which one will love him most? The 
landlord responds, "The one to whom he forgave most." 
Then Jesus makes the application to this poor, fallen wo- 
man, finally affirming that her sins are forgiven and 
saying to her, "Thy faith hath saved thee ; go in peace.^^ 
We must not conclude from this act in our Lord^s 
ministry, that he sets a premium on sin; far from it. 
There is no doubt but when great sinners are saved, they 



Jesus Preaching in Galilee. 99 

have a more superabounding love^, in the sense of grat- 
itude^ than persons born in the kingdom and abiding 
under the shadow of the Almighty. Yet the latter 
possesses grander resources of intellect and spirit than 
the prodigal who has wasted his energies and dissipated 
his resources in debauchery^ Luke 8 :l-3. We here see 
Jesus peregrinating all Galilee^ accompanied by his 
twelve Apostles and the elect sisters who so nobly rep- 
resented the feminine wing of the gospel church; i. e., 
Mary Magdalene^, so named from her native city^ which 
still stands on the northwest coast of the Galilean Sea, 
Joanna the wife of Chuza^ the steward of Herod^ Su- 
sanna and many others, who continued to minister unto 
him from those things which belonged to them. These 
godly women not only assisted him in his great work 
in the interest of the souls and bodies of the multitudes 
who constantly thronged his ministry, but also sup- 
plied him with food and clothing, and the temporalities 
of life. As you see Joanna, whose home was at Herod's 
palace, was prominent among the disciples of Jesus. 
Of course she kept the royal court well posted in the 
stirring events in the life of Jesus, at that time electrify- 
ing the world. 

THE SIN AGAINST THE HOLY GHOST. 

Matt. 12 :22-37. Our Lord's Galilean ministry has 
been in progress about fifteen months. In the absence 
of all modern mail facilities, we can hardly now con- 
ceive with what tardiness and difficulty the news made 
its way over the earth. Yet the events in reference to 
Jesus were so thrilling, paradoxical and miraculous, that 

L.ofC. 



100 Life of Jesus and His Apostles. 

they leaped from lip to lip^ like lightning from the 
skirts of the clouds^, till not only the entire Hebrew pop- 
ulation^ but the Gentile worlds was interpenetrated, 
thrilled, astounded, raised on tip-toe, and magnetized; 
wondering in their unutterable bewilderment, what 
shall be the issue of these things. The Hierarchy at 
Jerusalem are puzzled and driven to their wit^s end to 
explain away his miracles, which they are bound to do, 
in order to break the force of his mighty works, which 
were now the riddle of theologians and the perplexity of 
philosophers. Finally, after assiduous toil, laying all 
their wits under contribution, the Hierarchy succeeds 
in devising an exegesis, which, in their estimation, actu- 
ally solves this vexed question. They all concur in the 
exegesis and send their delegates down into Galilee to 
solve the mystery, satisfy the people and confound Je- 
sus. The solution is the simple hypothesis that Jesus 
has secured the services of Beelzebub, the commander- 
in-chief, having authority over the demons in that 
country, so that he had it in his power at will to cast 
them out. Jesus meets the solution on its merits in the 
light of reason, fact and common sense; certifying the 
instability of a government divided against itself. 
Though the kingdom of Satan in earth and hell, has all 
sorts of antagonisms, contrarieties and conflicts, yet on 
the line of evil and opposition to God, it is a unit. If 
this were not so it could not stand. 

Now you have the simple solution of the sin against 
the Holy Ghost which is unpardonable. It is nothing 
more nor less than the imputation of His mighty works 
to the devil. All the saving power in religion is super- 
natural, and imputable only to the Holy Ghost. When 



Jesus Preaching in Galilee. 101 

you reject the supernatural from religion^ you take God 
out of it and leave nothing but poor^ silly^ fallible hu- 
manism. The popular religion of all ages has ever been 
characterized by eliminating the supernatural. The 
antediluvians rejected God the Father^ and were de- 
stroyed by the flood; the Jews rejected God the Son, 
and were destroyed by the Eoman armies. In a similar 
manner the Gentile world is even now fast rejecting the 
Holy Ghost, and hastening into swift destruction. This 
is the sin against the Holy Ghost, which is never for- 
given, in this age; i. e., the Gentile times, nor the age 
to come, i. e., the Millennium. The commission of this 
sin is denominated ^^crossing the dead line.^^ Much of it 
is going on at the present day; and with a downward 
trend of the whole world, pursuant to its normal gravi- 
tation, incessantly to a low plain; the prevalence of this 
fatal and alarming, unpardonable sin, is a matter 
sufficiently momentous, to engross the attention of 
heaven, earth and hell. Oh, how alarmingly prevalent 
is this blasphemy; i. e., contempt against the Holy 
Ghost! Eomanism, enmasse, has so crossed the dead 
line that she has no use for the Holy Ghost. The Pro- 
tectant churches have very little use for Him, and are 
fast moving in the dark downward tread of their papal 
predecessor. The so-called holiness people are ^11 in the 
world to-da}^, who really extend to the Holy Ghost a cor- 
dial welcome. The people, who do not enthrone the 
Holy Ghost within and without are in constant liabili- 
ty of committing this sin, which begins in depreciation, 
progresses in His elimination, and culminates in His 
repudiation and rejection. Thus the religious world is 
committing the sin against the Holy Ghost, with appall- 



102 Life of Jesus and His Apostles. 

ing rapidit)^ ; meanwhile the irreligious world is moving 
with alarming impetuosity in the direction of infidelity. 
Thus these two opposites of helFs battery are magnetiz- 
ing and shaking the whole world this day; infidelity 
reiecting all religion^ and anti-holiness Chistianity^ 
eliminating the Holy Ghost out of all religion^ thus 
making a lifeless corpse^ which they hug with the su- 
perstitious adoration of oriental paganism^ Luke 11 :21- 
23. "M'hen a strong man armed may keep his palace, 
his goods are in peace^ but when the man stronger than 
he having come, conquers, he taketh away his panoply, 
in M^hich he trusted and spoiled his goods.^^ The palace; 
the strong man is the devil. The stronger man is 
Jesus. In conversion Jesus conquers the devil and casts 
him out of the heart. In sanctification he takes away 
the carnal mind, which is Satan^s panoply, and destroys 
all of Sstan's works. 1 John 3 :8. 

THE APOSTATE. 

Matt. 12 :38-45. Though He wrought so many mira- 
cle'"^, a^l giving uncontrovertible evidence of His Christ- 
hood, yet the scribes and Pharisees hang on him night 
and day persistently and incessantly clamoring for a sign. 
Tiie}^ wanted something like the manna coming down 
from Heaven to which they always look back, regard- 
ing it the climax of all miracles and the glory of 
Moses, whose disciples the}'- claim to be. ^'^When the un- 
clean spirit may go out from a man, he walketh through 
dry places, seeking rest and finding none, then he says, I 
will return into my own house, whence I came out. And 
having come he finds it empty having been swept and 



Jesus Preaching in Galilee, 1C3 

ornamented. Then he goes and takes with him seven 
other spirits more wicked than himself, and having 
come in he dwells there; and the last state is worse 
than the first. So it shall be to the end of this wicked 
generation.^^ This parable is terse, strong, clear and un- 
mistakably presenting a case of conversion followed by 
apostrophe, because the man did not get sanctified. 
Every unconverted soul is occupied by one or more evil 
spirits, who are cast out in conversion. There it says 
that the spirit was unclean, doubtless the demon of lust, 
so common and fatal with fallen humanity. Doubtless 
the man is looked upon as a high-toned gentleman, in- 
dulging his diabolical propensity, under the shadow of 
night, and irreproachable on other lines of popular sin. 
He gets converted, the unclean spirit being cast out. 
Now the sane unclean spirit, like all other demons, 
wants some human soul for his dwelling place. Mov- 
ing around for a time, he finds no open door ; but every- 
thing dry and uninteresting, people rejecting him on all 
sides. Then he resolves to return and seek admission 
into the soul out of whom he has been cast. He finds it 
empty, i. e., no spirit occupying it. He also finds that 
all the pollutions wrought in it by a former wicked life, 
had been experegrinated away, and it is adorned with 
the blooming flowers of a new creation, which the Holy 
Ghost always brings in regeneration. He attempts an 
entrance, but signally fails, rejected and repudiated with 
contempt. He now brings with him seven other spir- 
its, more wicked than himself. They effect an en- 
trance, take possesion of that soul, and as he now has 
seven distinct lines of wickedness instead of one, the 
last state is worse than the first. The one^ on returning, 



104 Life of Jesus and His Apostles, 

found his old house thoroughly cleaned up, renovated 
and beautified ; yet it was without an inhabitant. When 
the penitent sinner cries to God out of a broken hearty 
He sends the Holy Ghost, to cast out the demons, and 
renew his heart in the likeness of God. Yet before the 
Holy Ghost will make him the habitant of his royal per- 
sonality, he must receive a vastly deeper purgation, ex- 
terminating the very virus of sin, taking Satan^s last 
nest egg out of the heart, then he moves in to stay. If 
he had been living in the heart above mentioned, he 
would have proved more than a match for the seven 
devils, utterly discounterfeited and flooded the soul with 
victory. 

CONSANGUINITY OF THE HOLY GHOST. 

While Jesus is preaching to vast multitudes, labor- 
ing incessantly, healing the sick and casting out the de- 
mons, some one elbows his way through the crowd and 
notifies him that his mother and brothers are standing 
off on the outskirts of the eager, gazing, listening 
throng, and anxious to speak to him. They doubtless 
thought he was killing himself at work, and depriving 
them of his presence in the home. Consequently they 
wanted to see him, prevail on him to desist, go home 
with them and rest. Eeaching out toward his disci- 
ples he certifies that they are his loving kindred, and 
so are all who do the will of his Father, the conclu- 
sion from this is plain and simple. The consanguinity 
of the Holy Ghost is stronger than that of nature. In 
early life we stick to our home folks with ardent per- 
tinacity, believing them to be the best people in the 
world. As we learn more of God and sink deeper into 



Jesus Preaching in Galilee, 105 

the mysteries of His divinty and become more flooded 
with His love; His people become nearer and dearer 
to us; our native consanguinity passing farther from 
the range of our spiritual vision; really^ like Euth, God's 
people become our people with whom we resolve to live 
and to die. Matt. 12 :46-50. 

BAPTISM^ A PURIFICATION. 

Luke 12 :37-41. On this occasion Jesus having ac- 
cepted the invitation of a Pharisee to dine with him^ 
coming in sat down at the table without washing His 
hands. The Pharisees were very particular about hand 
washing every time before eating, lest somxC ceremonial 
defilement might have been contracted. Therefore he 
was astonished when Jesus proceeded to eatwithoutwash- 
ing His hands. The Greek for wash in this passage is. 
ehaptistthee, was baptized. As this is the word con- 
stantly used in the Xew Testament for the ordinance of 
baptism, here you get a clear definition of a problem 
which has been much controverted. Y. 39 gives Jcathari' 
zete, which 'simply means purify, as the inspired defini- 
tion of baptize. Hence water baptism is nothing but a 
ceremonial purification, performed by the affusion or im- 
mersion of the whole or a part of the body, as we see 
in this case, the washing was the baptism of the man. 

WOES AGAINST THE THEOLOGIANS. 

45-54. Here our Lord pronounces terrible, scathing 
and withering woes against the law}^ers (E. V., the 
Theologians, as they meant the exponents of the Scrip- 



106 Life of Jesus and His Apostles, 

tures^ and not civil lawyers)^ accusing them of laying 
heavy burdens on the people which they themselves dis- 
dained to bear. AYe now live in an age of ecclesiastical 
oppression in the interest of the secular clergy^ that 
they may live in pomp and splendor^ while Jesus whose 
ministers they claim to be had not a place to lay his 
head; he accuses them of corroborating the murder of 
the prophets by their fathers^ because they built their 
sepulchres. "Therefore then indeed the wisdom said^ I 
will send unto them prophets and apostles^ some of them 
they will slay and persecute^ in order that the blood of 
all the prophets^ which has been shed from the founda- 
tions of the worlds may be required from this genera- 
tion, from the blood of Abel unto the blood of Zechariah, 
who was slain between the altar and the house. Yea, I 
say unto you, it shall be required of this generation.^^ 

You have the history of this bloody tragedy in 2 
Chron. 24:20. When Ahaziah, king of the Jews, was 
slain by Jehn at Jezreel in Samaria, his mother Atha- 
liah usurped the throne, killed all of his children ex- 
cept the baby Joash whom the nurse hid, and reigned 
over the Jews in idolatry and wickedness seven years. 
Then Jehoiad'a, the priest, a godly man, who had taken 
care of the infant king Joash, brought him to the tem- 
ple at the age of seven and crowned him King. Then 
the people slew the wicked grandmother who had usurp- 
ed the throne. Joash reigned all right during the life of 
Jehoiada, who favored him with his prayers and his 
counsel. Wlien the old priest passed away ,the young 
King yielded to the flattery of the elders who led him 
into idolatrv. Then Grod put the spirit of prophecy on 
Zechariah, the son of the priest,, who lifted up his voice 



Jesus Preaching in Galilee. 107 

and cried against the wicked reign of Joash. Then the 
king ordered them to stone him. So he died between 
the brazen altar and the temple. Thus the wicked king 
slew the son of the godly priest, who had saved hi§ 
life and given him the kingdom. 

V. 62. ^^Wo€ unto you, theologians, because you 
have taken away the key of knowledge ; you did not en- 
ter in and you prevented those who are coming in.^^ If 
the leading clergy had received Jesus unto the preaching 
of John the Baptist the rank and file of the priesthood 
would have followed their example; while the member- 
ship, by millions, would have rushed into the gospel 
kingdom, in the track of their leaders, hailing Jesus by 
Shiloh of prophesy, the Christ of God, the Eedeemer of 
Israel and the Savior of the world; thus His coming 
proving a sunburst on the nation and honoring them 
with a commission to preach His gospel to the whole 
Gentile world. This would have expedited his glorious re- 
turn on the throne of his Millennial theocracy, putting 
the devil out of the world, filling the whole earth with 
the splendor of his glory, and crowning the saints with 
the dominion of the nations. How history anon turns 
back on its own track ! If the leading clergy of all de- 
nominations had received the holiness movement with 
joyous welcome, the preachers by myriads would have 
sought and found sanctification. Oh, how the members 
of the different churches, from ocean to ocean, would ac- 
tually stampede out of the howling wilderness into the 
land of corn and wine! As in the days of Christ the 
leading preachers and ruling elders are standing in the 
way of the moving host. 



108 Life of Jesus and His Apostles. 

ANTI-LODGEKY. 

Luke 12 :l-5. Nothing is hidden, which should not 
be revealed, and concealed which shall not be known. 
Therefore so many things as you speak in the darkness 
shall be heard in the light, and whatsoever you have 
spoken in the ear in secret chambers, s-hall be pro- 
claimed on the house tops. Entire sanctifieation saves 
us from all secrecy, except the ^^secret of the Lord, 
which is with them that fear him/^ When the Lord 
sanctified me thirty-three years ago, I was a Free Mason, 
and an Odd Fellow both. The fires of the Holy Ghost 
burnt out secrecy and lodgery; so tliey evanesced away 
like Nebuchadnezzar^s dream, never to return. When we 
get full of Jesus we have no room for anything else. ^^I 
say unto you, my friends ; be not afraid of those who kill 
the body and after these things, are not able to do any- 
thing more. But I will show you whom you should 
fear ; fear him who after he is killed has power to cast 
into hell; truly I say unto you fear you him.^^ Satan 
is the king of hell. He is the author of sin and death. 
He really kills the body and casts the soul into hell. So 
long as you are in sin, you are in his kingdom. His plan 
is to keep you there till you die and then cast you into 
hell. Your only security is to leave him at once and 
make your escape from his dominion with all possible 
expedition. 

THE RICH FOOL. 

Luke 12:16-21. "^nd he spoke a parable; I will 
take down my barns and build ^^reater, and will srather 



Jesus Preaching in Galilee. 109 

there all my fruits and goods^ and will say to my soul : 
soul^ thou hast many goods laid up for many years ; take 
thine ease^, eat, drink, be merry. And God said to him : 
thou fool, this night they demand thy soul from thee: 
and to whom shall those things belong which thou hast 
prepared? So is every one who lays up treasures for 
himself and is not rich for God/^ Oh, how comprehensive 
the simple and wonderful teaching of Jesus ! I fear this 
little parable actually includes the majority of 
the people in this wicked, God-forgetting world. On 
all sides we see them doing precisely like this rich fool. 
Death always comes suddenly to the unprepared. Sa- 
tan spreads before them the phantasmagoria of vain 
hope, till the last moment takes its flight and demons 
drag the soul into hell instead of ^^thy soul shall be re- 
quired of thee.^^ E. V. The true reading is "They re- 
quire thy soul from thee; the nominative to require, 
being the evil spirits who have held him in custody all 
his life and now, actually demand his soul for hell." 
The raven of the Bible, is identical with the crow of this 
country. Doubtless at that time many ravens were fl.y- 
ing in full view. Therefore Jesus beautifully alludes to 
them, so happy, cheerful and free from care. So he re- 
minds them that God feeds all the ravens, and we are 
much more important than the birds which fly in the 
air. ■ He reminds his audience how God feeds us like the 
birds and clothes us. like the lilies than even Solomon in 
all his glory. 

TRUE NEW TESTAMENT ATTITUDE OF THE SAINTS. 

32-45. ^^Fear not, little flock, because your father is 



110 Life of Jesus and His Apostles. 

delighted to give unto you the kingdom/^ Je&us came 
the first time to establish on the earth the kingdom of 
grace^ righteousness^ peace and joy in the Holy Ghost. 
Rom. 14:17. None but citizens of this kingdom are 
identified with ^^the little flock/^ of His true and loving 
disciples. Therefore the kingdom which the Father is 
going to give "the little flock^^ is the glorious Millennial^ 
which Jesus will bring w^hen "He comes again.^^ "Let 
your loins stand girded about^ and your lamps burning ; 
and be you like unto men waiting for their Lord^ when 
He shall rise up from the wedding, in order that com- 
ing and knocking they shall immediately open to Him. 
Blessed are those servants whom the Lord having come 
will find watching; truly I say unto you that He will 
gird himself and have them down, and having come will 
serve them. And if He may come the second watch and 
at the third as you may so find, happier those servants. 
Know this that if the landlord knew at what hour the 
thief Cometh, he had watched and not suffered his 
house to be broken into. Be therefore ready because j^ou 
think not the hour the Son of man cometh.^^ Lan- 
guage can not possibly portray a more forcible exhorta- 
tion to us all to be constantly on the outlook for the 
Lord to appear. You see here the true attitude of all 
saints is that of constant expectancy, indicated by the 
standing posture, ready to m.ove without taking time to 
get up; the girded loins ready for an oriental journey, 
as they all wear loose apparel. And he specifies that 
we are to be on the outlook for His appearing, as He 
is liable at any moment to get up "from the wedding'^ ; 
i. e., heaven is described as a constant and everlasting 
wedding festival. He is here described as meeting his 



Jesus Preaching in Galilee. 11] 

bride, coming like a tliief in the night. To the bride he 
is like a thief because he comes to steal her away, though 
she is wide-awake and looking for him. To the wicked 
world he comes like a thief because they are all fast 
asleep and not looking for him, w-hich is the conditiou 
of people when their property gets stolen. He not onlj 
exhorts us to be ready and watching, but he pronounces 
a glorious benediction on those servants whom He shall 
find watching. Hence the grandesft conceivable induce- 
ment is offered by the Savior to prevail on all of His dis- 
ciples to be incessantly on the outlook. On the contrary ^ 
He pronounces terrible woes and calamities on all ol 
those who are not watching for His appearing. He pro- 
nounces the unwatchful preacher a wicked servant who 
will be cut off and receive his portion, when the Lord 
comes, with hypocrites and unbelievers. I do not see 
how any person reading the plain and unmistakable 
words of Jesus, can possibly be a post-millennialist. Be- 
cause, if he is expecting the millennium to come and last 
a thousand years, before Jesns returns to the earth, he 
cannot possibly be looking for Him. Good Lord, help 
us all to receive and believe thy plain and unmistakable 
words, govern ourselves accordingly, and live night and 
day in constant readiness and outlook for thy appear- 
ing. 

THE FIRE OE THE HOLY GHOST. 

50-53. ^^I have come to send fire on the earth, and 
what do I wish indeed if it is already kindled.^^ The 
grand culmination of the Savior's ministry, was the de- 
scension of the Holy Ghost at Pentecost, for whose dis- 



112 L^f^ of J^sus and His Apostles, 

pensation, He gloriously and triumphantly prepared the 
way by satisfying the violated law with Hia own vicari- 
ous death, and sweeping every difficulty from the field 
by his substitutionary atonement. "I have a baptism to be 
baptized with, and how am I straightened until it may 
be perfected/^ Baptism means purification. Jesus took 
on Himself the sins of the whole world and expiated 
them by His death. 2 Cor. 5 :21. Hence His expiatory 
sufferings on the cross was the greatest baptism the 
world has ever known; for in them He really expiated 
every sin that ever blackened humanity and darkened 
hell in all the ages, the work being so complete as forev- 
er to preclude all legal necessity for the damnation of 
a solitary souL 

THE SALVATION OF THE LORD PRODUCES DIVISION. 

"Do you think I have come to send peace on the 
earth? No, I say unto you, but division. For from 
henceforth there shall be five in one house divided, three 
against two and two against three. The father shall be 
divided against the son and the son against the father, 
the mother against the daughter and the daughter 
against the mother, and the mother-in-law against the 
daughter-in-law, and the daughter-in-law against her 
mother-in-law.^^ The real salvation of Christ has al- 
ways divided up families, communities and churches, 
and always will, till Satan is taken out of the world, and 
the Millennium comes. While the devil reigns the sal- 
vation of whole families and churches is hardly to be ex- 
pected, as his grip is so tight, he will hold some, if not 
all. Dead, formal religion gives no trouble by dividing 



Jesus Preaching in Galilee, 113 

families and churches; froin the simple fact that when 
the devil has all, he raises no fuss. 

SIGNS OF THE TIMES. 

54-59. Here Jesus scathingly denounces the clergy 
and elders as hypocrites, because^ while they are shrewd 
detectives of all meteorological phenomina ; they are so 
blind spiritually, that they cannot discern the signs in 
the prophetical and spiritual. Already the -sceptre has 
departed from Judah, Gen. 49 :10, and the seventy 
weeks of Daniel have just about expired ; John the Bap- 
tist, the greatest prophet, has come and not only preach- 
es Jesus the Messiah, but actuallj^ pointed Him out to 
the people. Yet the hierarchy and eldership were so 
blind that they could not see Him. This day we have a 
repetition of the same sad phenomenon. While all na- 
tions in grand panorama are wonderfully fulfilling the 
latter day prophesies, flooding the world with auspicious 
omens of the Lord^s near coming; yet the churches are 
filled with the cultured clergy and eldership, shrewd 
in the diagnosis of temporal things, but blind to the 

signs of the times. 

# 

THE IMPENITENTS ARE CERTAUST TO PERISH. 

Luke 13 :l-5. Here Jesus enforces this inflexible 
reality by an allusion to the dismal doom of certain 
Galileans, whom Pilate slew on the Temple Campus, 
while offering up their sacrifices, so their blood mingled 
with that of their sacrifices. Also another case when 
fighting in a siege at Jerusalem, the tower Siloam fell 



114 Life of Jesus and His Apostles. 

on eighteen and crushed them. He uses these alarm- 
ing illustrations of bloody massacre to illustrate the 
fact that this similar irretrievable destruction assuredly 
awaits all finally impenitent sinners. 

THE FIG TREE IN THE VINEYARD. 

6-9. The land of Canaan^ the garden spot of the 
world^ doubtless as local tradition affirms^, the identical 
Eden, is the Lord^s vineyard, in this parable, while the 
Jewish people are represented by the fig-tree growing 
and flourishing in the vineyard. The three years, dur- 
ing which the vine dres'ser sought the fruit, are the 
three years of the Lord^s ministry, during which the 
tree was cultivated, fertilized and irrigated by His won- 
derful preaching and mighty miracles. Finally the tree 
having utterly failed to bear fruit was cut down when 
the Eoman armies, in a seven years^ war, A. D. 56-73, 
desolated the land and exterminated the nation. 

PARABLE OF THE SOWER. 

Matt. 13 :l-23. This beautiful, lucid and ample exe- 
gesis of the gospel kingdom is recorded in Matthew 13, 
Mark 4 and Luke 8. While the Lord gives an ex- 
position of the kingdom under the similitude of these 
seven parables, that of the sower is generic, comprehend- 
ing the entire problem of human redemption, while the 
other six are specific,exhibitory of so many distinct phas- 
es of the gospel kingdom. This notable sermon on the 
kingdom opens with four distinct sowings : the first on 
the hard, dry ground, along the public road, which is 



Jesus Preaching in Galilee. 115 

speedily picked up and devoured by the ravens ; the sec- 
ond falls on stony ground^ germinates quickly, grows 
rapidly, bids fair to produce an abundant crop, but un- 
der the burning summer sun, when the vernal showers 
cease to fall, is speedily blighted, utterly dried up, and 
proves a total failure. The third sowing falls into rich 
soil, but preemptorially productive of thorns, so the crop 
springs up, flourishes quite a while and bids fair to prove 
a grand success, but finally the thorns crowd, spindle and 
dwarf it, till the fruit ultimately proves a failure. The 
fourth sowing is in good ground and does amazingly 
well, producing, some thirty, some sixty, and some a. 
hundred fold. Hence you see that out of the four sow- 
ings, only one proved a final success. The ground is the 
heart. The good ground is the sanctified heart; hence 
the only hope of an availability in all of our gospel en- 
terprises is to get the people sanctified, without which 
all our labor is destined to be a final and eternal failure. 
Is there no hope for the wayside sowing ? This takes in 
the helter-skelter rabble, who go to church for fun and 
pastime, the gospel rings into one ear and out at the 
other, and they getting nothing. Xow let us fence up 
this hard, barren wayside land with prayer-meetings, 
Sunday-schools, family altars, personal appeals and holi- 
ness literature, keeping stock off, till the irrigating rains 
and winter freezes soften, loosen and pulverize the earth, 
till the seed finds lodgment, germinates and does well. So 
we save the wayside sowing. What about the stony 
ground ? Go into it with the crow-bars, sledge-hammers, 
gun powder and dynamite of entire sanctification ; blow 
up, take out all of the roeks, use them to erect your 
buildinigs, fence your lands, make pikes and pavements. 



116 Life of Jesus and His Apostles, 

Burn the fragments into lime to enrieh your soil so 
you turn it into good ground, and it comes out all right. 
What about the thorny ground ? While the stony ground 
here is quickly converted and falls speedily, the thorny 
ground shows up a better case, remains in the church, is 
regarded as a good member, but eventually drifts away 
in'to worldliness, captured by the cares of the world and 
its deceitfulness, till he sinks down into dead formality, 
and degenerates into hollow hypocrisy. Now use dili- 
gently the grubbing-hoe, mattock^ spade and the flying 
Dutchman plow, and you will get rid of all the thorn 
roots and thoroughly purify your soil, transforming it 
into good ground. You see here the wonderful growth 
in grace; one reaches the end of life with thirty times 
as much religion as when he began; the other, sixty 
times as much as when converted, and still another 
winds up with a hundred times as much grace as when 
he rejoiced in the raptures of a new-born soul. 

PARABLE OP TARES. 

13-53. This parable has the solitary signification 
of revealing clearly and explicitly the counterfeit pro- 
fessor. The tare in the Old World corresponds with the 
chaff of this country. V. 26, "And when the stalk 
grew up and produced fruit, then the tares truly ap- 
peared.^^ We see from this statement a confirmation of 
the fact, which we have all frequently observed; i. e., 
that the tares look like wheat till the heads develop, il- 
lustrating the fact that this counterfeit professor is not 
an immoral, outbreaking sinner, but a nice, clever gen- 
tleman, living in harmony with the moral law and con- 



Jesus Preaching in Galilee. 117 

forming to the rules and regulations of the visible 
church. 

Eom. 6:22. "Therefore being made free from sin, 
we have our fruit unto sanctification, and in the end 
eternal life.^^ So the tare looks precisely like wheat till 
the formation of the fruit. Then we see that it is not 
wheat at all^ but chaff. The application of this parable 
to the ungodly, impenitent, frolicking church members 
is utterly untrue. They are not tares, but cockleburs. 
Our Lord says the field is the world, and the Son of 
man sows the good seed ; i. e., the children of the king- 
dom, while the devil sows the tares. At the end of the 
age; i. e., the gospel age, which will continue to the 
Millennium, the tares will be gathered and burned. This 
is the tribulation. As jou see (v. 42, 43) after this will 
follow the glorious millennial harvest, Satan having been 
taken out of the world, will sow no more tares, while the 
whole earth will be turned into a glorious wheatfield. 
N. B. — This parable simply sets forth Satan^s counter- 
feit phase of the kingdom. * 

THE CORNSTALK. 

Mark 4:26-29. Corn in the Bible always means 
wheat, barley and other cereal grains, being generic and 
comprehending all the species. This parable simply re- 
veals the epochal phase of the kingdom. Germination 
of the grain is regeneration, followed by the normal 
growth in grace. The formation of the head: i. e., 
the development of the fruit, is sanctification (Rom. 6: 
22), while the ripening of the grain into thorough solid- 
ification, so it will keep in any climate, is glorification. 



118 Life of Jesus and His Apostles. 

These are all distinct works wrought in the heart by the 
Holy Ghost^ and beautifully revealed in their distinct 
epoch by this parable. 

THE GROWTH PHASE OF THE KINGDOM. 

Matt. 13 :31, 32. The mustard tree is one of the 
largest in Palestine. If you ever visit that country, you 
will find a number of them growing at the Fountain 
Engedi (Ezek. 47 :12), on the southern coast of the Dead 
Sea. While it is a noted fact that the seed is very small 
and fuzzy, like that ofi our sycamore, here He alludes to 
the rendezvous of beasts in the shadow and the birds of 
the air in the branches of this majestic tree. So in re- 
generation, the Holy Spirit imparts a scintilla of divine 
life to the dead Sfoul. That life develops on, not only 
through probation, but all eternity. The gathering of 
the beasts and birds to enjoy the shade of this tree and 
find a cooling refuge from the burning heat of a semi- 
tropical climate, beautifully illustrates the benignity of 
a paragon saint in a community, dispensing blessings in- 
definable to all who Cometh within his influence, even 
though they do not enjoy the close walk with God, which 
makes him the double blessing of sunshine and showers 
to the poor victims of sin and sorrow, who were so un- 
fortunate as to participate in the benediction of his phil- 
anthropy. 

THE AGGRESSIVE PHASE OF THE KINGDOM. 

33. "He spake another parable to them : the king- 
dom of heaven is liken unto leaven which a woman, hav- 



Jesus Preaching in Galil&e. 119 

ing received, hid in three measures of meal until all were 
leavened.*^ This parable has frequently been misinter- 
preted, construing the leaven homogenious with the 
kingdom, which is not correct. He does not say that it 
is the kingdom, but the kingdom is like unto leaven. 
That old unjust judge who neither fears God nor re- 
gards man (Luke 18) symbolizes our blessed Heavenly 
Father ; but, only in the attitude of absolute sovereign 
independency. Leaven means nothing in the Bible but 
corruption ; i. e., inbred sin. Hence the Jews had to be 
very careful at the Passover to see that there was no 
leaven in their bread, which really, like the lamb, em- 
blematized Christ. 

1 Cor. 5 :6. "Cleanse out the old leaven in order that 
you may be a new lump, as you are free from leaven; 
for Christ has become our Passover.^^ Here the old leav- 
en is the old man (i. e., inbred sin), which is cleansed 
out of us in sanctification, so that we become free from 
the leaven of inbred sin, like Christy who is our example. 
It is a significant fact that leaven — i. e., corruption; i. 
e., decomposition; i. e., disintegration — is the most ag- 
gressive thing in the world. A solitary fly-blow will 
taint a ham. One rotten apple, or potato, will ruin a 
whole barrel. So inbred sin never ceases to work night 
nor day. It steadily moves on to the ruin of the soul, 
the family and the world. In point of aggression, holi- 
ness is like sin, moving steadfastly onward to the con- 
quest of the world, destined to cover the earth as the 
waters cover the sea ; nothing being competent to antag- 
onize it but the human will. Mother Eve is the fallen 
woman who received this leaven from the devil and 
transmitted it to all her posterity; Shem, Ham and 



120 Life of Jesus and His Apostles. 

Japheth^ the three measures of antediluvian meal^ who 
survived the flood and transmitted this leaven to the 
postdiluvian worlds Shem receiving Asia; Ham^ Africa, 
and Japheth, Europe^, to whic^h America was added ; and 
60 this leaven has reached the Mongolian millions, the 
sable myriads, and the Caucasian multitudes. 

THE REGENERATION PHASE OF THE KINGDOM. 

44. ^^Again the kingdom of heaven is like unto a 
treasure which has been hidden in the field, which a 
man having found concealed, and from his joy goes and 
sells all things which he has and purchases that field.^^ 
The field is the church, which the man of the world has 
been accustomed to see all his life, apprehending noth- 
ing of very especial interest. Eventually light breaks in 
on his mind, conviction sweeping like a cyclon-e through 
his soul, waking him up to the rousing recognition of 
something in the church of infinite value, which in some 
mysterious way had all his life evaded his discovery, con- 
sequently with enthusiasm he sells out all his possessions 
— i. e., turns them to the devil and the world, whither 
they belong — goes with joyful anticipation and pur- 
chases that field ; i. e., he takes the salvation of the Lord 
for his portion, and is perfectly delighted with the 
church. 

THE SANCTIEICATION PHASE OF THE KINGDOM. 

45, 46. "Again the kingdom of the heaven is like 
unto a mercantile man seeking goodly pearls, who, hav- 
ing found one pearl of great price^, having sold all 



Jesus Preaching in Galilee. 121 

things so many as he had, and purchased it/^ Here we 
see this good, regenerated church member, eventually 
run on a holiness book or paper, or meet a red-hot holi- 
ness evangelist, or happen in his travels to spend an 
hour in a flaming holiness revival. The result is that 
he catches a glimpse of a grand bonanza, which will 
make him a millionaire if he can only get it. There- 
fore, he proceeds at once to pay the price, sells out his 
own soul, mind and body, wife, children, relatives and 
friends, pastor, presiding elder, bishops, church, and 
everything he posseses, or ever shall possess in time and 
eternity ; i. e., puts them all on the altar for this world 
and all other worlds. Then faith begins to appropriate ; 
wonderful things happen; Jesus baptizes him with the 
Holy Ghost and fire ; he receives the blessing, finding it 
better than he ever dreamed, so that, like the Queen of 
Sheba at the court of King Solomon, he frankly admits 
that he finds everything true he had ever heard about the 
wonderful experience, ^^and the half had not been told.^^ 

THE EVANGELISTIC PHASE OF THE KINGDOM. 

47-50. "Again the kingdom of the heaven is like 
unto a net which has been cast into the sea and gather- 
ing of every kind, which^ when it may be filled, drawing 
it up to the shore,they gathered the good into baskets and 
threw the bad away. So it will be in the end of the age. 
the angels will come and separate the wicked from the 
righteous, and cast them into the lake of fire, and there 
shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.^^ This parable 
sets forth in vivid realization the literal occurrences in 
the normal evangelistic fields in all ages and nations. 



122 Life of Jesus and His Apostles. 

We preach the living Word and cast the gospel net with 
every conceivable diversity of results. Sometimes we 
catch a good lot of fish; at other times mostly frogs^ 
toads^ lizards^ turtles^ snakes^ and vast quantities of tad- 
poles, wdth a fish here and there, floundering amid the 
heterogeneous mass. We never do catch many fish, with- 
out finding a large per cent, of filthy reptiles and worth- 
less, doleful creatures. Then what shall we do? Quit 
fishing ? God forbid. Let us push on, ever indefatiga- 
ble, though you drag out the same old green-eyed toad 
a dozen times. ^^He said unto them, therefore every scribe 
having been disoipled is like unto a man w^ho is a land- 
lord, who taketh out from this treasure things old and 
new.^^ Instructed ^"^into the kingdom^^ (E. V.) is incor- 
rect and misleading, as if a person could enter the king- 
dom by instruction, which is impossible. There is but 
one way to enter the kingdom, and that is by becoming 
a disciple, which is impossible save by the intervention 
of the Holy Ghost in His regenerating powder. When 
the scribe; i. e., the preacher, or any other person, is 
thus discipled into the kingdom, he is always bringing 
out of his treasure things both new and old. His treas^ 
ure consists in his experience and the precious Word of 
God, which fills his heart. The former is always new, 
fresh and bright, though you have told it a thousand 
times. The latter is always old. Solomon says, "There 
is nothing new under the sun.^^ It is all old as the 
Bible; i. e., old as God. Therefore, everything new in 
religion is false. 

When the Lord winds up this wonderful sermon on 
the kingdom, He proceeds to cross the sea, sailing from 
the west coast to the east. While traveling with His 



Jesus Preaching in Oalilee. 123 

disciples down to the ship a man certifies to Him his 
determination to follow Him wheresoever He goes, to 
whom Jesus responds, "The foxes have holes and the 
birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man hath not 
where to lay His head/^ As Capernaum was the cen- 
ter of His evangelistic peregrinations, it is believed that 
He made the house of Peter His home when there. The 
fact is clear that He often slept on the ground beneath 
the twinkling stars. During the same walk, He said to 
another man, who asked His permission to go and bury 
his father, "Let the dead bury their dead, and thou hav- 
ing come away, preach the kingdom of God^^; i. e., let 
the spiritually dead neighbors, who are not competent to 
preach the gospel, bury your father, but you, having left 
them all behind, preach the kingdom of God. Mean- 
while, to another, who asked permission to go and bid 
farewell to his homef oiks. He forbade, saying : "No one 
putting his hand to the plow and looking back is worthy 
unto the kingdom of God.^^ In that country the plow 
has but one hand. It is a significant fact that you can 
not plow with it unless you keep your eye on it, illus- 
trating the fact that if you do not keep your eye on 
Jesus, you cannot be His follower. Luke 9 :57-62. 

JESUS STILLS THE TEMPEST. 

Mark 4 :36-39. Having embarked upon the sea, very 
soon a mighty tempest sweeps down from the moun- 
tain, rolls up the billows, dashes them in wild commo- 
tion hither and thither, lolling the waves into the ship 
till it is already sinking. Matthew says that the ship 
was covered by the waves; i. e., submerged. Luke says 



124 Life of Jesus and His Apostles. 

they were being filled up and in danger. They all say 
that it was a great storm. Meanwhile the sky is black 
with the roaring thunder-clouds, mountain waves rolling 
over the ship, till it seems they must surely go down to 
the bottom of the sea. Lo, Jesus is enjoying a refresh- 
ing nap in the stern of the ship. They awaken Him 
and say to Him, "Teacher, is there not a care to Thee be- 
cause we are perishing T^ Arising, He rebuked the wind 
and said to the sea. Be quiet, be calm. The wind ceased 
and there was a great cakn^ and He said to them^ "Why 
are you so cowardly? How have you not faith? And 
they feared with great fear and continued to say to one 
another. Who is He, because both the wind and the sea 
obey Him?^^ N. B. — He had not yet declared His 
Christho'od. If He had, they would have crowned Him 
King of the Jews and the Romanes would have killed 
Him. Thus far they were in unutterable bewilderment 
as to who He was. Elijah and Elisha had wrought 
many miracles on the very ground over which they were 
walking ; the city of Nain, where He raised the widoVs 
son from- the dead, stands on the north-west slope of Mt, 
Eamothgilead, and Schunem, on the south-east slope of 
the same mountain, where Elijah raised the son of the 
Schunemitish woman from the dead. I visited both 
cities the same day. Now their faith is awfully put 
to the test, whether to simply relegate Him among the 
prophets, or to conclude that He is really the Christ. 
The fact of the indissoluble identity of the Ohristhood 
with the King of the Jews was constantly in their way. 
as they, like so many nowadays, fail to "rightly divide 
the word of truth,^^ mixing up the prophecies relative to 
tiie second and glorious coming to be crowned King of 



Jesus Preaching in Galilee, 125 

Israel, sit down upon the throne of David and reign for- 
ever; thus confusing them with those appertaining to 
His first advent. 

This mira'cle, however, makes a deep and profound 
impression on them, when with their mortal eyes and 
ears they see and hear Him command the raging storm 
and the roaring sea to be calm, and they immediately 
obey His mandate, leaving not so much as a zephjT to 
fan their brows. 

HE HEALS THE BLOODY HEMORRHAGE. 

Mark 5:22-34. While on His way to the house of 
Jairus in Capernaum, responsive to his call to heal his 
daughter from the dead^ amid the enthusiastic throng. 
who are crowding each other out of all room, actually 
treading on Him, a certain woman, having suffered 
twelve years from a bloody hemorrhage and wasted her 
entire earthly fortune on physicians in the vain hope of 
recovery, receiving no benefit, but growing worse, man- 
ages to press through tJie crowd and touch the rear of 
His garment. That very moment the blood ceased to 
issue from her body, and she received the happy con- 
sciousness of her healing. Jesfis making inquiry who 
touched Him, His disciples were disposed to explain it 
as incidental to the pressure of the multitude, some one 
inadvertently touched Him. Eef using to accept the solu- 
tion when certifying that power went out of Him, the 
embarrassed woman came trembling and fell before Him 
confessing the miraculous healing of which she had be- 
come the happy recipient, to whom Jesus affirmed. 
"Daughter, be of good comfort, thy faith hath saved 



126 Life of Jesus and His Apostles. 

thee/^ This miracle and 'affirmation of onr Lord is infin- 
itely eons'olitory to suffering humanity^ assuring us all 
that our wonderful Savior really heals the body accord- 
ing to our faith; i. e., when you have faith in Jesus to 
heal you. He actually does, the true attitude, as Wesley 
says, having submitted the case to Him, to believe that 
He doeth it. While you are thus believing He honors 
your faith and does heal you. 

RESURRECTION OF JAIRUS' DAUGHTER. 

Mark 5:38-43. Amid the joyous rapture over the 
healing of the woman^ a messenger arrives from Jairus^ 
saying to Him, Trouble not the Teacher^ because my 
daughter is dead. Jesus hearing, responded to him, 
saying, "Fear not ; only believe and she shall be saved.^^ 
Oh, what floods of consolation have been rolling over 
this world in all ages from these wonderful words! 
Now He comes to the house of the chief ruler of the 
synagogue, suffering none but Peter, James and John, 
who seem to have enjoyed deeper insight into spiritual 
things, to enter with Him, along with the father and 
mother of the daughter. The Jews were very demonstra/- 
tive in their mourning for the dead, perpetuating it 
seven days. As this was the daughter of the leader of 
the synagogue, they were disposed to honor the family 
with a great mourning, having already entered upon 
their weeping and wailing with their musical instru- 
ments co-operating with solemn lays. Jesus entering, 
says to them, "Why do you weep and mourn, the child 
is not dead, but sleeping.^^ They 'hooted at Him, and 
putting them all out. He taJ^es the father and mother 



Jesus Preaching in Galilee. 12? 

and comes in where she is lying. Taking the hand of 
the little child^ He says, Talitha cumij which is, inter- 
preted, Damsel, I say unto thee arise. Luke says her 
spirit returned and she arose immediately, illustrating 
the fact that she was really dead and her spirit had gone 
away from her body, refuting the modern heresy of the 
©oul sleeping with the body till the resurrection. Jesus 
said, "She is not dead, but sleepeth.''^ That is in har- 
mony with the uniform teaching of the New Testament, 
which recognizes the immertality of the body, as well as 
the soul. Therefore, the death of the body is only sleep 
a^waiting ithe resurrection trumpet. 

Here in Capernaum, while the Lord is passing 
along, he sees Matthew sitting in his money office, for 
he w^s a collector of the Eoman revenue. He bids him 
*%ave all and follow Me.^^ He responds promptly, but 
makes a great feast for his unsaved companions, invit- 
ing Jesus and His disciples to attend, in order to bring 
his guests under the influence of his great Teacher. 
During the festival, Jesus preaches a beautiful and pow- 
erful sermon, in which He elucidates the kingdom of 
Grod under the imagery of the old garment and the new 
cloth, and the old bottle and the new wine, thus beau- 
tifully elucidajting the transcendent importance that we 
all go out of the patching business, cast away the old, 
Tagged, sioiled garments of dead formality, and put on 
the brand-new, snowy white robe of Christ^s righteous- 
nes®, destined to brighteni forever the admiration of an- 
gels and archangels. Also to quit fooling with the old 
bottles and fermented wine, but to gt a new bottle; i. e., 
a new heart and get it filled up with the Holy Ghost, 
who is the new wine of the kingdom. We receive the 



128 Life of Jesus and His Apostles, 

new bottle in regeneration, and the new wine is saneti- 
fication. The reason TVhy the dead churdies are so much 
opposed to sanctification, is because they are afraid it 
will tear up their thresad'-bare garments of self-righteous- 
ness, and the new wine will burst up the old bottles 
and ruin their religion, which they have had so long, 
actually idolize it. 

Luke 5 :36-39. "No one drinking the old wine im- 
mediately wishes the new, for he says the old is better/^ 
This verse is signally verified in universal evangeliza- 
tion ; e. g., this is the great diflBculty among the heath- 
ens; while we see and commend the virtues of Christian*- 
ity, they still say that their old religion suits them bet- 
ter. The same is true of Eomanism, Mohammedanism, 
and the dead Protestant churches. Despite all the beau- 
ties and graces they see in holiness, yet they say the re- 
ligion of thir fathers "is better.^^ N. B. — It is not Je- 
sus who says the old is better; but that dead professor, 
who has to get light and conviction of the Holy Ghost 
before he will >desire 'holiness .and seek after it. 

"Here at Capernaum two blind men followed Him, 
crying out and saying, Have mercy on us, thou Son of 
David, to whom He responds. Do you believe that I am 
able to do this? They say to Him, Yea, Lord. Then 
He touched their eyes, saying. Be it done unto you ac- 
cording to your faith. And their eyes were opened. 
And Jesus charged them, saying, See that no one know 
it. But having gone out they publish Him in all that 
eountry.^^ Jesus wrought this great miracle in the house 
(Peter's), charging them not to tell it, because the peo- 
ple were ready at any jnoment to rise up and crown; Him 
King, in which case the Romans would have killed Him 



Jesus Preaching in Oalilee. 129 

for high treason again-st Caesar. They now bring Him a 
demonized dummy, the demon having so wrought on him 
as to take away his power of speech. When the eject- 
ment of the demon was clearly demonstrated by the 
ready utterances of the man, the Pharisees standing 
around resumed their old hobby, certifying that He cast 
out demons through the prince of the demons. As we 
have clearly elucidated in Matt. 12, this is the sin 
against the Holy Ghost, which shall never be forgiven; 
i. e., imputing the miracles which Jesus wrought through 
Him, to the devil. That sin ruined the Jewish priest- 
hood, by leading them into devil-worship. We live amid 
the sad re-perpetration of the same awful unpardonable 
sin, committed now, as then, by imputing the works of 
the Holy Ghost to the devil. N. B. — This sin of devil- 
worship is in its very nature unpardonable, because the 
Holy Ghost is the executor of the Trinity. By Him the 
Father illuminates and convicts. Through Him the Son 
regenerates, sanctifies, heals and glorifies. Matt 9: 
27-34. Jesus again rejected at iSTazareth. Mark 6:1-6. 
Therefore you see that when we are driven out of the 
church for preach ing holiness, we ought to give them 
time to reflect, and then go back, as Jesus did, after an 
absence of nearly two years; a.s we know not but they 
may have received light and repented. So give them 
another chance. Again, they simply refer to His na- 
tivity among them, and mention His mother, His broth- 
ers, James, Joses, Judas and Simon, and His sisters liv- 
ing in their midst, all evidently the younger children 
that Mary had, and proceeded to reject Him as for- 
merly, thus evoking His repetition of the proverb, ^^A 
prophet is not without honor^ save in his own country 



130 Life of Jesus and His Apostles. 

among his relatives and in his own house/^ This should 
be an admonition to all His followers who would be effi- 
cient in the great work of saving souls, to bid adieu to 
home and relatives, cast your lot among strangers^ and 
there preach the unsearchable riches of Christ. 

THE TV7ELVE COMMISSIONED AND SENT OUT. 

Matt. 9:35; 10:1^2. We should not forget 
to constantly emulate the example of Jesus, in 
His untiring industry, toiling night and day to 
save a lost world. The three years of His 
ministry were so exceedingly crowded with labor, 
teaching His disciples, and especially the twelve 
on whom devolved the arduous responsibilities of es- 
tablishing the gospel church and promulgating it 
throughout the whole world after His departure; be- 
sides His personal presence and ministry in aU the im- 
portant towns and cities throughout the land of thej He- 
brews; that He commissioned the twelve to leave Him 
in the cities encircling the Sea of Galilee, and go away 
two by two-, thus constituting six evangelistic bands; 
enter every town within the coasts of Israel, preach the 
gospel an'd prepare the people for His coming. Verse 36 
gives the reason why He sent out the apostles. ^^And 
seeing the multitudes, He was moved with compaission in 
their behalf, because they were faint and deserted as 
sheep having no shepherd/^ N". B. — These people all 
had their regular synagogue worship, conducted by their 
own pastors. Why are they described as feeble, sickly 
and at the point of death, like sheep off in the desert 
waste, surrounded by the burning sands, bewildered and 



Jesus Preaching in Galilee. 131 

lost, witiiout food and water, abandoned; by their shep- 
herds and ready to die? So our Savior simply meant 
that the people had no efficient spiritual guides. V. 37. 
^Then He says to His disciples, the harvest indeed is 
great, but the laborers are few; therefore pray ye the 
Lord of the harvest that He may send forth laborers 
into His harvest.^^ Oh, how vehement is the cry for la- 
borers this day! Millions on all sides, at home and 
abroad, are going into hell at race-horse speed. As in 
the days of Christ, the Jews were a mighty people, ex- 
ceedingly prosperous in every prospect, their religion 
flourishing at the very acme, a synagogue in every vil- 
lage, and Jerusalem 450, all other cities being well sup- 
plied; the effect of their Babylonial captivity to com- 
pletely cure their fatal old propensity for the heathen re- 
ligions, so they no more went off into idolatry. Yet be^ 
cause their religion had degenerated into dead formali- 
ty and hollow hypocrisy, it was, if possible, more abom- 
inable in the sight of God than open idolatry. Hence 
the Savior pronounces those people, who are all mem- 
bers of the Jewisth church and well supplied with learned 
pastors, ^^sheep without r„ shepherd''^ ; not only shepherd- 
less, but ^^faint and deserted.^^ We are living in an age 
in which this sad history is vividly and alarmingly re- 
peated, a country abounding in churches, an ample sup- 
ply of learned preachers, and yet the people perishing 
by millions for the bread of life ; not a tithe of the pop- 
ular churches saved. 

7. ^^Going forth, preach, saying that the kingdom 
of the heavens has come nigh unto you.^^ That king- 
dom consists of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy 
Ghost. Eom. 14:16. Eighteousness here is used in its 



132 Life of Jesus and His Apostles. 

broad sense, inoluding holiness. "Heal the sick, raise 
the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons; freely you 
received, freely give/'^ You see in the catalogue of the 
preaeher^s work, healing the sick stands at the front. 
Therefore when you arrive, first inquire about the sick 
and give them immediate attention, as in their case you 
have a double opportunity of doing good, both to the 
soul and body. You see we are also commanded to "raise 
the dead,^^ which of course has a spiritual signification; 
yet it is not to be restricted to it. Let us stick to the 
word. I was on the spot where Elisha raised the young 
man at Schunem, and several times at Joppa, where 
Peter raised Dorcas. I saw her tomb. I was near the 
place where Elijah raised the widow^s son, and passed 
by Troas, where Paul raised Eutychusi. Mary Etta Da- 
vis, of Elmira., New York, revived after an absence of 
nine days from her body, enjoying a visit to heaven, as 
she testified and wrote in a book after her return. An 
English nobleman, well known as the author of a book 
entitled "Letters from Hell,^^ revived after he was dead 
seyeral days, having visited the regions of woe. (Par- 
don here a momentary allusion to myself.) I was as- 
phyxiated with gas in Fresno, Cal., while sleeping in 
my room the night of January 13, the present year 
(1901), and found dead, all breathing having ceased. 
Fortunately I wa.s enjoying the hospitality of Dr. Meux. 
an eminent Christian physician^ who, in the providence 
of God, resorting to artificial methods, restored respira- 
tion, my consciousness returning in about twenty hours. 
There is no doubt but life is actually restored after at 
least suspended animation, not very infrequently, even 
in our day. Let us not be incredulous to the Word of 



Jesus Preaching in Galilee. 133 

the Lord. In the Old World lepers abound to this day. 
especially in the Bible lands of Asia and Africa. Jesus 
cleansed them, and commissioned His apostles to do the 
same. We are their successors in labor. "Cast out de- 
mons.^^ This is the constant and normal work of saving 
sinners and saving souls; all the citizens of Satan^s 
kingdom being more or less demonized. Hence our nor- 
mal evangelistic work in saving sinners is the ejectment 
of saving sinners, whereas our normal mission in the 
sanctification of believers is comprehended in the cleans- 
ing of the lepers, leprosy being everywhere the symbol of 
inbred sin, which is not revolved by pardon, but cleans- 
ing. 

"Take neither gold nor silver nor copper in your gir- 
dles nor valise, nior two co-ats. nor sandals nor staff.^^ 
You see here the Lord leaves us without excuse. We 
are not to wait to get money to defray expenses, nor a 
change of raiment, nor sandals, but go at once, barefoot, 
without a second suit, without any money, trusting the 
Lord to feed us like the birds, and clothe us like the 
lilies; like Paul feeling free to take a job of tent-mak- 
ing to defray current expenses if the Lo^rd so leads. We 
certainly have all excuses laid in the shade by our infal- 
lible Preceptor. The gospel is a practical truth in per- 
fect harmony with good common sense, providing both 
for our going and leaving, in case that we are not re- 
ceived and appreciated, knocking off the dust from our 
feet for a testimony against them, the Lord assuring us 
that it will be more tolerable for Sodom and Gromorrah 
in the d^y of judgment, than for that city. He com- 
mands us to be wise as serpents and harmless as doves. 
The word translated harmless is aheroirei, from alcera" 



134 Life of Jesus and His Apostles. 

numij which is the strongest compound Greek word for 
unmixed^ forcefully setting forth the purity of the heart 
and life, which should always characterize the Lord^'s 
embassadors. He assures us the eflEect of the gospel will 
be to array earth and hell against us, produce all sorts 
of division, provoke antagonism and conflict, thus ar- 
raying the world, the flesh and the devil against us. 

At this point in our Savior^s ministry our attenton is 
called to the court of King Herod, who about that time 
had a grand cou'vocation of the mighty men assembled 
from all parts of his kingdom on either side of the Jor- 
dan to celebrate his birthday. Amid the festivities and 
rejoicings of that grand ovation, Salome, the daugh- 
ter of Herodias, so entertained and delighted with 
the pantomimic dance, that the king, in his hilarious en- 
thusiasm, said to the damsel, ^^Ask what you will of me, 
and I will give it unto thee, even the half of my king- 
dom.^^ The girl retreated away, consulted her mother, 
asked her what request she would make of the king. 
Herodias hated John with rattle-snake venom, because 
he had exposed her unlawful marriage with Herod. Al- 
ready has John been shut up in prison twenty months, 
to keep her from killing him, as the king was powerfully 
wrought upon by the lightning truth dispensed by the 
fearless Baptist, so that as a loyal member of the Jew- 
ish church, Mark says he was accustomed to do many 
things; i. e., many good things which John command- 
ed ; and he continued to hear him gladly. Millions of 
church members this day love to hear the truth boldly 
and ftrcibly preached, even though it tears them all to 
pieces. Meanwhile, they make much reformation, 
straighten up, and do better, resolving, at a convenient 



Jesus Preaching in Galilee. 135 

season^ to meet the full demands of the divine law^ make 
all wrongs rights go to the bottom and settle matters for 
eternity. But in an unguarded hour^ Satan makes a 
run on them which ruin's them for time aiid eternity. 
This was the case with Herod Antipas. Being moved 
powerfully by Jahn^s preachings making much ref orma- 
tion, resolving to get all right with God; even keeping 
the preacher safe within the prison wall to keep the en- 
raged queen from slaying him by a hired assassin. Even- 
tually^ amid his hilarity, he is caught in the trap of Sa- 
tan. When the hoiden damsel returns and demands 
the head of John the Baptist in a charger, to the king 
it is like a clap of thunder from a cloudless sky. His 
royal pride and the time^honored custom*s of Oriental 
despots would not admit of a refusal at that stage of 
the transaction. He would have lost the favor of all 
his magnates, and doubtless provoked a revolt on the 
spot, which would have cost him his head. Therefore, 
in unutterable grief, he acquiesces in the bloody tragedy 
which ruined him for time and eternity. Soon after- 
ward he was signally defeated in battle by Aretas, his 
father-in-law, the King of Arabia, who fought against 
him for the mal-treatment o-f his daughter, in discard- 
ing her from the queenship in order to get married to 
Herodias. This was but the beginning of his trouble, 
which resulted in exile and a miserable death. Mark 
6 :14.29. 

FEEDING THE MULTITUDES. 

The movements of the six apostolic evangelistic 
bands through the entire country were exceedingly expe- 



136 Life of Jesus and His Apostles, 

ditious, occupying^ I trow^ not more than a months 
till they return to the Lord, still preaching on the Sea 
of Galilee, and report all things which they did and 
taught. Verse 31. "Then He said to them. Come ye 
hither unto a desert place and rest a little while.^^ For 
many were coming and going, and they had not leisure 
to eat. Two years of the Lord^s ministry have already 
passed away. His fame has moved with the tread of a 
giant throughout all Judea, Galilee, Perea, Syria, Phoe- 
nicia and the Great East, arousing the old, the young, 
the rich, the poor, princes and people, till it is impossi- 
ble for Him to hide, unless He draws on His divinity. 
Luke says the place to which they went was a desert 
of the city called Bethsaida ; i. e., an uninhabited region 
within the territory identified with that city. Bethsaida 
stood on the noirth-east coast of the sea, where a great 
spring flows out from the base of the Mount of Beati- 
tudes, on which the Lorddielivered that celebrated sermon. 
On our arrival we first dismounted and lunched at that 
spring. Though the plan was to take a rest after their 
hard toil, running all over the country and preaching in 
every city and important town, thus preparing them for 
the coming of Jesus. In this they were utterly disap- 
pointed, because the eyes of all were on them, observing 
the 'Steerage of the 'ship, and whither she was bound. 
The Sea of Galilee had seventy-five miles of coast, every- 
where crowded with cities. A ship on this sea is visible 
from the entire coast, and far up into the interior, be- 
cause, being seven hundred feet below the Mediterra- 
nean, it is surrounded by highlands. Therefore they 
come in teeming thousands in all directions, trending 
away in the track of Jesus, till the desert (which simply 



Je$tLs Preaching in Galilee. 137 

there means an uninhabited region of country) was 
thronged with at least ten thousand people, as Matthew 
says there were five thousand besides women and chil- 
dren. 

John 6 :5. ^Then Jesus lifting up His eyes and see- 
ing that a great multitude is coming to Him, says to 
Philip, Whence sihall we buy bread that these may eat ? 
He spoke this testing him, for He knew what He was 
a;bout to do. Philip responded to Him, Two hundred de- 
naria are not sufficient for them (the denarion was fif- 
teen cents, 200 equaling $30, which was perhaps about 
all the money they had on hand) in order that each may 
recei\^ some small quantity. One of His disciples, An- 
drew, the brother of Simon Peter, says, There is one lad 
here w^ho has five barley loaves and two fishes; but what 
are these among so many? And Jesus said. Make the 
people sit down ; for there was much grass in the place 
(this was April, when the grass is green and flourishing 
in that eountry). And He took the loaves, and giving 
thanks, gave them to His disciples, and the disciples to 
those sitting down; likewise also of the fishes so much 
as they wished. \ATien they were filled He said to His 
disciples^ Gather up the remaining fragments, in order 
that nothing may be lost. Then they gathered and filled 
the twelve baskets of the fragments of barley loaves 
which remained of those having eaten. * * * Then the 
people seeing the miracle which Jesus did, continued 
to say. Surely this is the prophet coming into the world.^^ 
Moses had said to them, ^'^A prophet will be the Lord our 
God raised up froan your brethren like unto me. Him 
will you hear unto all things, so many as He may say 
unto you^^ (Deut. 18 :15) . Moses was a mediator ; there- 



138 Life of Jesus and His Apostles. 

fore this prophet was a mediator; i. e.^ the Eedeemer 
of Israel;, as they «all understood. 

Matt. 14 :22. Jesus immediately compelled His dis- 
ciples to embark in a ship and go before Him until He 
can send away the multitudes. And having dismissed 
the multitudes^ He went up into the mountain to pray. 
John 6 :15. ^*^ Jesus knowing that they were about to 
come and take Him in order that they may make Him 
King, departed again into the mountain Himself alone.^^ 
This miracle, which so grandly elucidates normal gos- 
pel work (e. g., we begin with a very small amount of re- 
ligion, have a big revival, get many saved and sanctified 
and filled, and at the winding up we have no trouble to 
gather up religion enough to start forty more revivals), 
so wonderfully stirred those ten thousand people that an 
enthusiasm broke out among them, shouting on all sides, 
^^Why shall we wait another hour. The thing is clear 
and demonstrative; this Man is the Christ of God, the 
Shiloh of prophecy, and the King of Israel ; come, one 
and all, and let us crown Him King.^^ The reason why 
He had to compel His own disciples to embark in their 
ship and return to Gennesaret, was because they were as 
eager to crown Him King as any of the multitude. As 
this was right on the eve of the Passover at Jerusalem, 
and tho'se people were going directly away to it, their 
plan was to take possession of Him and carry Him with 
them, to Jerusalem, and there crown Him King. When 
the multitudes saw His disciples depart and embark on 
their ship and start away to the other side of the sea. 
whence they came, this bewildered their plan, as the 
disciples were in the lead of it. Already Jesus has ren- 
dered Himself invisible and has gone away alone into thQ 



Jesus Preaching in Galilee, 139 

mountain^ the Tv^bole multitude being utterly bewildered, 
as tbey searched diligently and cannot find Him among 
His disciples, and are thoroughly convinced that He does 
not embark with them on the ship and sail away ; there- 
fore^ they have lost Him, and just have no idea where 
he is 

JESUS MEETS THEM IN THE STORM. 

ISTow, while Jesus is alone in the mountain, the day is 
fled and gone, and the ship is gliding over the sea, but 
the winds are contrary, blowing from the north-east in 
a terrible sweeping gale, so they wear themselves out 
plying the oars, and progress but slowly. The night is 
gliding away; it is already three o^clock in the morning. 
Behold, they see something moving amid the stormy 
billows, which dash with terrible violence on all sides. 
In their dismal affright, they think it is a spectre from 
the eternal world, come to haunt them and thus augment 
their troubles, already more than they can bear. There- 
fore, in their affright, they cry out by reason of fear. 
A familiar voice is heard distinctly amid the raging 
storm, ^^Be of good cheer, I am He ; fear not/^ 

PETER^S ADVENTURE. 

Matt. 14 :28. And Peter, responding, said ; ^^Lord, 
if thou art He, command me to come to Thee on the 
waters; He siaid, Come. And Peter, having come down 
from the ship, walked about over the waters and came 
to Jesus. Seeing the wind stirred, he was afraid, and 
beginning to sink, cried out, saying. Lord, save me. And 



140 Life of Jesus and His Apostles, 

Jesus immediately reaching out His hand received him 
and says to him^ Oh^ ye of little faith^ why did you 
doubt? And they coming into the ship^ the wind 
ceased." Peter was always the most prominent of the 
twelve^ not only because of his seniority^ but because of 
his extraordinary sprightliness and vivacity of tempera- 
ment, which made him always the first to> speak and 
act; his comrades recognizing the fact and spontanea 
ously acquiescing in his recognized prominence, and 
waiting on him. When Jesus enters the ship, the winds 
are at once lulled, and by vigorous rowing, soon makes 
the landing on the coast of Gennesaret, the country sur- 
rounding the City of Capernaum. Not only are the 
sailors on the ship thrilled with conviction, but they 
actually fell down and worshipped Him, saying, ^^Truly, 
Thou art the Son of God.^^ When they land, the glad 
tidings fly on the wing of the wind throughout the 
entire country. Therefore the people pour in from all 
directions, bringing their sick on beds, placing them in 
rows throughout the streets, so that they may only touch 
the hem of His garment, and all who touched Him were 
healed. 

The City of Tiberius stands on the western coast of 
the sea. It is one of the many ancient cities recently 
revived by the returning Jews, who are rapidly building 
it up. We lodged there at a Jewish hotel during my 
last tour in that land. As the place where the multi- 
tudes were fed is not far from that city, many people 
came into it and sought conveyance across to Caper- 
naum, whither His disciples had gone. Therefore they 
filled all the ships they could command at Tiberius and 
came at once to Capernaum, hunting Him. 



Jesus Preaching in Galilee. 141 

SERMON IN THE SYNAGOGUE AT CAPERNAUM. 

John n :30-71. On arrival at Capernaum, they were 
astonished to find Him there preaching in the synagogne. 
Their bewilderment resulted from the fact that they 
knew that only the one ship had sailed with His disci- 
ples^ and He was not in it. And as He had not been 
at Tiberius^ they were utterly dumbfounded to find Him 
on the other side of the sea^ with no possible conveyance, 
as they did not know that He had walked off on the 
waters and gotten aboard with His disciples. This ser- 
mon really produces a notable epoch in His biography. 
During the two years of His ministry, besides the twelve 
apostles, hosts of people have followed Him in the at- 
titude of disciples. The time has arrived when, in His 
infallible wisdom, He recognizes the importance of de- 
veloping proof^ going doT\Ti into profounder depths of 
spirituality than ever before. During His discourse, radi- 
ating out from the exegesis of the manna by which they 
were miraculously fed forty years in the wilderness. He 
proceeds to evolve the great problem of soul pabulum. 

53. ^Then Jesus said unto them, Truly, truly. 
I say unto you unless you may eat of the 
flesh of the Son of man and drink of His 
blood, you have no life in you. He that eateth my 
flesh and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life, and I will 
raise him up in the last day. For my flesh is truly food, 
and my blood is truly drink. He that eateth my flesh 
and drinketh my blood, abideth in me and me in him. 
The living Father sent me, and I live through the Father. 
Indeed he that eateth me shall also live through me. 
This is the bread that came down from heaven. Not 



142 Life of Jesus and His Apostles. 

as your fathers ate manna and are dead; he that eateth 
this hread shall live forever/^ After this many of His 
disciples went back and no longer continued to walk with 
Him. Then Jesus said to the twelve^ ^^Whither do you 
also wish to go back?^^ Then Simon Peter responded 
to Him, ^^Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou bast the 
v/ords of eternal life, and we have believed and have 
known that thou art the Christ the Son of the living 
God/^ The grand truths 6f entire sanctification 
and glorification are involved in this discourse. 
The drinking of the blood covers the ground of 
complete spiritual purgation, and the eating of 
the flesh, glorification. The malady of sin is a 
blood trouble, every corpuscle being tainted by it. 
Therefore a blood remedy is absolutely necessary. This 
we have in the blaod of Christ, which cleanseth from all 
sin. In the spiritual realm, faith is the organ of masti- 
cation and deglutition ; i. e., we drink the blood by f aith, 
when we thus receive it to cleanse us from all sin. Be- 
lieving is receiving. The Bible clearly reveals not only 
the entire sanctification of the soul by the cleansing 
blood, but the glorious transfiguration of the body, elim- 
inating mortality out of us, and investing us with the 
similitude of His glorious body, so that we can wallc 
away on the clouds as He did when He ascended. We 
should not only have perpetual faith in Christ for a free 
justification and entire sanctification, but as Enoch was 
translated by faith (Heb. 11), so w^ should live in the 
constant exercise of translation faith, ready every mo- 
ment, watching and waiting for our Lord to appear, ex- 
pecting ^^to be caught up to meet Him in the air.'' We 
read here that the people said, "This is a hard sermon, 



Jesus Preaching in Galilee. 143 

i^ho is able to receive it?^^ A similar state of things 
doth this day environ ns, many people staggering over 
the deep truths of sanctification and glorification. Here 
we are informed by the infallible words, that many of 
His disciples turn back and walk no more with Him. 
Yea, the turning back was so great that it looked like 
they would all go. Finally He appeals to the twelve 
and asks them if they will go, too. Peter promptly serves 
them as speaker, responding, ^^Lord, to whom shall we 
go? For thou hast the words of eternal life.^^ Peter 
was characteristic of good, solid sense. He knew there 
was no other alternative but hell and the devil. Oh, that 
the multitudes in the churches throughout Christendom 
to-day would only heed and exemplify the solid sense 
of Peter ! We would not have wholesale stumbling over 
the deep things of God. The truth of the matter is, we 
dare not dictate to Grod; we must take Hisi terms, or 
abide our destiny in hell with the devil. A modern critic 
in case of this kind would say that the preacher made 
great mistake in giving too strong meat. I trow no one 
will dare to say that Jesus made a mistake in this ser- 
mon, which staggered and turned back the big end of 
His membership in the gospel church. Good Lord, help 
us all to be true, preach, like Thyself, and abide the con- 
sequences, if all the people go back on us. 

The Lord has now completed the second year of His 
ministry, and the third Passover is come and gone, which 
you see, in the perusal of His biography, that He did 
not attend, obviously from the fact that the multitudes 
whom He miraculously fed, just at the time when they 
had assembled to go up to Jerusalem and attend the 
Passover, were so enthused over the stupendous miracle. 



144 Life of Jesus and His Apostles. 

that they were in the very act of taking possession of 
His person in view of carrying Him with them to Jeru- 
salem^ that they might crown Him king during the f es^ 
tival, consequently rendering Himself invisible;^ passing 
alone into the mountain^ spending the night in prayer 
and coming to His disciples^ tossed by vehement contrary 
minds^ embarking at 3 o^clock a., m.^ after His peregrina- 
tion on the stormy billow®; thus having evaded the eager 
throng and left them to go away to the Passover without 
Him^ He spent the time in Galilee, thus evading His 
own royal coronation 'and prolonging His life another 
year, thus taking time and opportunity to finish the 
work, which he came on the earth to perform, not only 
laying down His life a vicarious sacrifice for a guilty 
world (which required but little time), but preaching 
to the multitudes and calling out the twelve apostles, to 
whom He transmitted the great work of universal evan- 
gelization, devoting three whole years to their instruc- 
tion in the elementa of divinity, requisite to the estabr 
lishment of God's kingdom on the earth, which then and 
there superseded the dispensation of the law and the 
prophets. At this crisis; i. e., the third Passover, the 
conviction of His Christhood was too strong to admit of 
His presence at the festival without incurring serious 
liability on the part of the multitudes already even in> 
petuous to seize and crown Him king; thus putting an 
end to His ministry, as the Eomans would certainly in 
that case execute Him under the charge of high treason. 

BAPTISM SIMPLY A V^ASIIHSTG. 

Mark 7 :1-17. In the allusion here to the customs of 



Jesus Preaching in Galilee. 145 

the Pharisees always to was'h their hands when they 
came from the market^ the Greek iaptizooj also the 
washing of cups^ pots^ brazen vessels^ and couches, the 
Greek haptismoSj, the connection showing clearly that it 
is simply a ceremonial purification, which the Jews were 
accustomed to perform by sprinkling the water of puri- 
fication on the subject of ceremonial defilement, doom of 
everj^thing which is not Divine (Matt. 15:12-14:). His 
disciples, having come to Him, said. Do you know that 
the Pharisees, hearing the Word, were offended ? He re- 
sponding, said, Every plant which my Heavenly Father 
did not plant shall be rooted up. Let them alone ; the 
blind are leaders of the blind; if the blind lead the 
blind, both will fall into the ditch.^^ This withering and 
blighting condemnation is applied directly to the scribes 
and Pharisees who were at that time the pastors and 
leading officers of the Jewish church. God had estab- 
lished that church, hence it is not pertinent to apply to 
it these awful woes. The solution of the matter was, 
they had built up a carnal, human ecclesiasticism in the 
name of the church. This was destroyed by the Roman 
armies, but the true church survived in the one hundred 
and twenty who followed Jesus in all His vicissitudes 
and persecution; and finally receiving the baptism of 
the Holy Ghost and fire on the day of Pentecost, went 
forth to evangelize the whole world and introduce the 
kingdom of heaven in the succession of the law and the 
prophets. In a similar manner the gospel dhurch is this 
day almost lost sight of in the endless multiplication of 
human institutions, with a diversity with denomina- 
tional shibboleths, all destined to go down in the Gentile 
tribulation, as the corrupt ecclesiasticism whidi the Sa- 



146 Life of Jesus and His Apostles. 

vior is here denouncing, was swept away in tiie destruc- 
tion of Jerusalem. 

INBRED SIN". 

Mark 7 :21-23. For withini out of the hearts of men 
proceed evil reasonings, adulteries, fornications, mur- 
ders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceitfulness, im- 
purity and evil eye, blasphemy, pride and folly — all these 
evils proceed from within and corrupt the man. In this 
sermon which He preached at Capernaum, the central 
theme is inbred sin, revealing its location deep do\vn in 
the profound interior of the human spirit, there abiding 
in its serpentine coil and ready to strike, upon the slight- 
est provocation. Meanwhile He most lucidly and radi- 
cally exposes the superficiality of the popular religion, 
which was almost confined to the outward life, leaving 
the motly group of original depravity and the subtle 
chicanery of the carnal mind comparatively undisturbed. 
A similar phenomenon, peculiar to the fallen ecclesiasti- 
cisms of the present age, is 'an unanswerable confirma- 
tion of the apostasy, which seems only discernable to the 
holiness people. 

Ephphatha. This Greek word is in the imperative 
inood^ passive voice and aorist tense. Therefore it means, 
^^Be thou instantaneously opened this moment.^^ Our 
Savior spoke it to a dumb man in Decapolis. Instantane- 
ously and simultaneously with the utterance his ears 
were opened and the bridle of his tongue was opened so 
that he spake distinctly. While in a FreeMethodist camp- 
meeting at Emporia, Kan., sister Jones, the wife of a 
local preacher, with others, came to the altar, seeking the 



Jesus Preaching in Galilee. 147 

healing of her dumbness^ as she had not articulated her 
voice in thirty months ; meanwhile all medical treatment 
having proved ineffectual. We prayed for them to trusi 
Jesus for healing. The sister apparently in silent agony, 
had fallen on the floor^ her face turned heavenward^, her 
lips moving evidently in silent prayer; when suddenly 
she sprang to her feet;, shouted aloud, ran up and down 
the aisles^ leaping^ praising God, and testifying to His 
miraculous healing of her dumbness. The matter re- 
ceived great notoriety, her friends who had known hex 
in her dumbness two and a half years, coming to the 
meetings to see and hear for their own satisfaction. Her 
presiding elder being an eye witness told me he had not 
heard her voice in the two and a half years. Her pastor 
being an eye witness to her healing, testified' to the audi- 
ence that he knew it to be a miracle; as he and many 
other physicians had exhausted all their medical skill 
in her treatment. The Lord and His salvation for soul 
and body, is as real and merciful to-day, as when He 
walked in Galilee. The moment He speaks the divine 
epliphatlia, eyes, ears, voice and all the vital organs, re- 
spond to His bidding. While preaching in the land of 
Decapolis, so named because of its ten principal cities, 
Jesus again miraclously feeds the multitudes, some eight 
or ten thousand, as Matthew says, there svere four thous- 
and men besides the women and children. 

THE PHARISEES AND SADDUCEES CLAMOR EOR A SIGN. 

He is now in the land of Dalmanutha on the North- 
west coast of the sea, having sailed over from Decopolis 
on the South-east coast after feeding the multitudes. 



148 Life of Jesus and His Apostles. 

I trow Mary Magdalene_, so named from this city 
Magdala^ was converted by His preaching at this time. 
I was in that city during my last tour. Her conversion 
was marvelous^ because she had seven demons till Jesus 
cast them out; after which she became an eminent disci- 
ple^ even standing at the head of the feminine wing of 
our Savior^s discipleship ; faithfully following Him in 
all of His Galilean ministry and finally with a few other 
elect sisters accompanying Him to Jerusalem^ standing 
by Him in all His troubles^ last at the cross^ first at 
the sepulchre^ and first to receive the full-orbed com- 
mission^ go and preach the risen Savior. During His 
ministry at Magdala and Dalmanutha^ the Pharisees 
and Sadducees^ old enemies either to other^ now unite in 
their opposition to Him, demanding a sign from heaven 
confirmatory of his ministry. To whom he responds, rec- 
'Ognizing their shrewdness in the solution of meteorologi- 
cal phenomena ; but severally castigating their blindness 
and stupidity to the signs of the times, which were so 
obvious to every person enjoying the illumination of 
the Holy Ghost on the prophesies ; e. g. The sceptre had 
already departed from Judea, Gen. 49 :10 ; the seventy 
weeks of Daliel had just about run out and the power- 
ful ministry of John the Baptist, who stirred the nation 
from center to circumference; was avowedly fulfilled in 
his introduction of Jesus. Here he responds, *^^A wicked 
and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign.^^ All 
deflection from Christ is spiritual adultery. Entire 
sanctification is the only possible remedy for this spirit- 
ual adultery, which blinded the eyes of the clergy and 
eldership in the days of Christ; so that amid over- 
whelming prophetic signs of his Christhood, they blindly 



Jesus Preaching in Galilee, 149 

rejected all and rushed headlong to destruction. 
Though the world to-day is flooded with the signs of 
His near coming both the clergy and ruling officers of 
the church are astoundingly blind^ to prophetical fulfill- 
ments everywhere assuring us that the Lord is nigh. 

THE LEAYEX OP DEAD RELIGLOX AXD POEITICS. 

The Pharisees were the orthodox denomination of 
the Jewish churchy the Sadducees the heterodox and As- 
senos the holiness people ; while the Herodians were the 
most influential politicians. Here we* see them all united 
in a combination against Jesus ; '^leaven^ having its usual 
Bible meaning and here applied to the corrupt intrigue 
of these parties^ two of them ecclesiastical and the other 
political; and all radically contrary to their principles, 
united and working together ; as both the Pharisees and 
Sadducees were violently opposed^ not only to each other 
but especially to the Eoman government, which was 
represented by the Herodians. The Pharisees were or- 
thodox, like the leading Protestant denomination of to- 
day; but spiritually dead. The Sadducees were hetero- 
'doxical in doctrine, and of course spiritually dead; 
while the Herodians were corrupt politicians, making no 
claim to religion. Hence our Savior^s warning covers 
all the ground; i. e., dead religion, whether Orthodox or 
Heretical, and politics which are always full of Satan's 



THE TWO WORKS OF GRACE. 

Mark 7 :22-26. Here we have a clear and unanswera- 



150 Life of Jesus and His Apostles. 

Lie illustration of the two works of grace in the plan of 
siilvation. Our Lord comes into Bethsaida (Julias^ so 
designated to contradistinguish it from Bethsaida), the 
nativity of Peter, Andrew and Philip, and standing on 
the Xorth-west coast; this town Bethsaida Julias which 
is on the left bank of the Jordan, about a mite from its 
influx into the sea. 

Jesus taking him by the hand, led him out 
of the village; "He spitting in his eyes, putting His 
hands on him asks him if he sees anything ; looking up 
he continued to say: I am seeing men walking about 
like trees. Then again He put His hands on his eyes 
and made him look up; and he was restored and saw 
all the people distinctly.^^ Here we see the first touch 
was a great blessing, giving him light instead of the pro- 
found darkness in which he went groping about. While 
this first work is invaluable to the poor blind man; yet 
we see the second was also inestimable. While vision 
in any degree is a wonderful relief from profound dark- 
ness ; yet distinct vision is a transcendent blessing. 
Every sinner walks in rayless midnight. In conversion 
the light gloriously breaks in. His joy is ineffable. Yet 
He seee the people like trees walking about. 

I have seen trees on tho Pacific coast fifty feet in 
diameter, which had to be dug up by the roots, in order 
to cultivate the land. Unsanctified Christians are al- 
ways uneasy, because they overestimate others, looking 
upon them as great trees, instead of seeing them in their 
normal weakness and insignificance. 



Jesus Preaching in Galilee, 151 

JESUS MONEYLESS. 

Matt. 17 :24:-27. "And they having come into Cap- 
ernaum those receiving the half shekle came to Jesus 
and said; does your teacher pay the half -shekle? He 
says ; Yes. And when he came into the house Jesus an- 
ticipated him saying, What seems to you, Simon ? From 
whom do the kings of the earth receive toll or tribute? 
From their own sons, or from aliens? Peter says to 
him ; from aliens. Jesns said to him ; then the sons are 
free. But in order that we may not offend them, going 
to the sea cast in hook, and catch the fish first coming 
up ; and opening its mouth you will find a statera ; hav- 
ing taken it give it to them for me and you.^^ 

The half -shekle was the regular contribution to the 
Temple. It was voluntary. You see the force of the il- 
lustration in reference to kings, collecting from their 
subjects who are not members of the royal families; 
the latter being free from taxation, to support the gov- 
ernment which they themselves administer. As Jesus 
and Peter belonged to God^s family, they were free from 
assessment. Yet for the sake of harmony, Jesus told 
him to go down to the sea, cast in his hook, catch the 
first fish that bites and take out of its mouth a statera. 
the equivalent of two didrachma, sufficient to pay the 
usual annual contribution to the support of the Temple, 
i. e., seventeen per capita. You see from this transac- 
tion t>9.t Jesus, on this occasion, was actually money- 
less. As this is the only test of which we read in His 
life; we legitimately infer that he went through this 
world entirely destitute of money, certainly involving 
the conclusion that this is the normal static of his fol- 



152 Life of Jesus and His Apostles, 

lowers. The original economy illustrated in the Pente- 
costal revival was to give all;, to support the widows^, or- 
phans and the Lord^s laborers; henceforth laboring in 
God^s husbandry^ depending on Him to verify His beau- 
tiful promise to feed us like birds and clothe us like 
the lilies. We should certainly profit by the moneyless 
example of -our Lord^ at the same time utilizing the no- 
ble example of the Apostle Paul^ who frequently supple- 
mented his support by manual labor. 

INFANCY IN THE KINGDOM. 

Matt. 18 :2-5. Human generation is in Adam the 
First and regeneration in Adam the Second. What we 
loise in the formxcr^ we regain in the latter. When God 
created Adam^ he created the whole human race; Eve 
being no exception^ but a transformation from Adam^s 
rib. When Adam fell, the race fell, not personally but 
seniinally. When an infant is born, it is not a new crea- 
tion, but an evolution from Adam, inheriting the carnal 
mind, w^hich is spiritual death. Eom. 7 :6. Christ, by 
the grace of God, tastes of death for everyone. Heb. 11 :9. 
Therefore so soon as soul and body united constitute per- 
sonality, the grace of Christ imparts spiritual life so 
that we are all born in the kingdom as illustrated by the 
prodigal 'son and his elder brother ; and we only get out 
by actual transgression. So our infants are noti sinners, 
but Christians, needing s'anctification to remove the car- 
nal mind, with which they are born. Ps. 51 :5. ^^1 was 
shapen in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive 
me.^^ The depravity with which we are born, and for 
which we are not condemned, because we never com- 



Jesus Preaching in Galilee. 153 

mitted it^ but received it by heredity; turns our faces 
awaj^ from God^ so if left to ourselves^ we will spontan- 
eously start off in actual transgression^ forfeit our jus- 
tification^ fall under condemnation and be forever lost. 
Hence the great importance of taking the child before it 
has gotten out of the kingdom hj actual transgression, 
turning it round (which is the literal meaning of con- 
version)^ introducing it to the Savior^ till the light of 
his countenance falls on it, gladdens its hearty gives it a 
new spirit; so that instead of starting towards hell^ it 
sets out for heaven^ without delay^ and gladly travels 
the Iving^s highway. Thus conversion should take place 
before the infantile justification is forfeited by transgres- 
sion. Then the child should be led on into sanctifica- 
iion^ before it has time to backslide^ and thus secure the 
perfect and eternal triumph over sin and the devil. 

The dogma is held by some that the entire sanctifica- 
iion of parents would superinduce the birth of their 
offspring^ free from depravity. This is a mistake, as in- 
fants born are not a denovo creation, but as the Method- 
ist Discipline says, a traduction from Adam, involved in 
the sin of the fall. 

REGEXERATIOX DOES NOT REMOVE INBRED SIN". 

Mark 9 :38-39. "And John responded to him say- 
ing; Teacher, we saw a certain one casting out demons 
in thy name, who does not follow along with us. And 
Jesus said; forbid him not. For there is no one who 
shall do a miracle in my name and be able quickly to 
speak evil of me. For whosoever is not against us, is on 
our side.^^ ISTo one doubts the conversion of loving John. 



154 Life of Jesus and His Apostles, 

Jesus bad already told him and liis apostolical comrades, 
that their names were written in heaven. Yet you see 
V R^ he was not free from the spirit of bigotry and 
jealousy, which lies down at the bottom of sectarian pre- 
judice; and must have the second work of entire sanc- 
tification to eradicate them. 

ENDLESS PUNISHMENT OF THE WICKED. 

Mark 9 :43.49. ''If % hand may offend thee cut it 
off ; it is good for thee to enter into life maimed rather 
than having two hands to depart into hell, into the fire 
which is unquenchable, where the worm dieth not and 
the fire is not quenched. Jesus thought this alarming 
truth so exceedingly important that he repeats it three 
times ; specifying the hand, the foot and the eye, actu- 
ally trebbling the force of this awful affirmation. In 
addition to this tripple declamation, the words here se- 
lected by the Savior are stronger than the casual reader 
will ever apprehend, unless he should have access to the 
Greek, e. g., ''into hell, into the fire which is unquench- 
able.^^ From this you see the lying nonsense of tak- 
ing the fire out of hell, which frequently, now-a-days, 
disgraceQ the pulpit. Jesus positively reveals that it is a 
hell of fire, which cannot be quenched. "Where the worm 
dieth not and the fire is not quenched.^^ 'Worm^ here 
symbolizes the living creature, i. e., the immortal soul 
which can never die. No Hellites abound in Europe 
and America, and are rapidly increasing. I do not mean 
infidels and non-professors, but people in pulpit and 
pew, who profess to be the disciples of Jesus. They will 
have terrible trouble in the judgment day, for hushing 



Jesv^ Preaching in Galilee, 155 

the alarm bells^ whicb. Jesus gave liis people to ring to 
warn the wicked of their awful danger; and defacing 
the guide^boards which he puts up in this world 
to escort the travelers along the narrow way^ and 
keep the real hell scare on them^, lest they go 
to sleep in the enemies^ land and the robbers 
overtake them. The people that take a burning hell 
with its fires eternally unquenchable out of the Bible, 
occupy an appalling attitude^ as^, that of flat and une- 
quivocal contradiction of the Savior. 

CHURCH DISCIPLINE. 

Matt. 18 :15-22. We see here the law of our Lord 
in reference to an offending brother. Go with prayer 
and love in your hearty and^ by tlie grace of God^ seek his 
reclamation. If you fail^ then take with you one or 
two others and plead with him in the name of the Lord. 
If you all fail bring him before the church. If he re- 
ject all;, let him be a member no longer. You are to be 
full of a forgiving spirit, ready in case of repentance to 
forgive seventy times seven offenses; i. e., indefinitely. 
Our Lord confirms this problem by the case of a man 
who owed myriads of talents. A myriad is ten thous- 
and. Here it is in the plural number. Talents was a 
princely sum of money, its value depending on the cur- 
rency, whether gold or silver. As thej^ are both here in 
the plnral number, the phrase sets forth a princely sum, 
actually indefinite and innumerable. When this m?.n 
indeed in contrition, plead the mercy of his Lord, moved 
with compassion he freely donated him the whole 
debt. Then going out and finding a man who 



156 Life of Jesus and His Apostles. 

owed him a hundred demaria; i. e.;, fifteen dol- 
lars, taking him by the throat he cast him into 
prison. The fellow servants all grieved over the outrage^ 
told the Lord about it; who, being angry, delivered 
him to the tormentors till he should pay all that he was 
owing him. This is a clear illustration setting forth the 
relation of every human being to the Lord. We are in 
debt to him, an absolutely incalculable sum, which we 
never can pay in all the flight of eternal ages. Conse- 
quently the least thing we can do is freely and fully to 
forgive everybody who owes us anything. We can never 
go up and live in heaven unless we are full of love and 
mercy like the Savior. 

This superabounding love, mercy and gratitude, we 
must be always ready to manifest freely, gladly and fully, 
forgiving evervone who has ever in the smallest man^ 
ner offended ujj. 



CHAPTER VI. 

JESUS PREACHES AMONG THE GENTILES. 
I. TO THE SAMARITANS. 

John 4. Jesus having begun His ministry with the 
first Passover at Jerusalem^ in the purification of the 
Temple; preached but a short time in and about the 
eitj^ till He left for the norths gi'^iiig as a reason ^^that 
a prophet is without honor in his own countr/^ ; Galilee 
being his native land^ would not be so excited by his 
ministry as Judea. The normal effect of all this extra- 
ordinary sensation^ being the arousement of the multi- 
tude to arise and cro\\Ti Him king^ thus provoking the 
Eoman government to put Him to death under charge 
of high treason against Caesar. As Samaria reaches all 
the way across the main land of Palestine^ from the Jor- 
dan on the east to the Mediterranean on the west ; it is 
necessary to either cross the Jordan twice and travel 
through Perea^ quite a circuitous route^ or go directly 
through Samaria. J^sus chose the latter^, being led by 
the Holy Ghost who knew he had so convicted a poor 
fallen woman in that country, that she was ready to meet 
Jesus and get saved. Samaria was a country of the ten 
tribes who follow Jeroboam in the revolt from Echo- 
boam. This proving a departure from the religion of 
David and the prophets superinduced a downward trend 
in the direction of the Baalistic idolatry, so prevalent in 
Palestine and Syria, their neighbors ; especially during 

157 



158 Life of Jesus and His Apostles. 

the administrations of Ahab and Jezebel^ the daughter of 
of the King of Sidon ; ultimating in their transportation 
into Babylonial captivity by Shalmanezer^ B. C. 721. 
As the years roll on and the few poor people left by the 
Babylonial monarch to take care of the land^ proved 
incompetent to keep down the will beasts^ the lions mul- 
tiplying so rapidly as to threaten the very existence of 
the few inhabitants. Consequently King Esarhaddon 
seaat quite a population^ gathered up from different 
heathen nations^, to colonize the country. They had their 
heathen religions^ which they mixed up with the cor- 
rupt Judeaism they found among the few surviving na- 
tives. When under the administration of Cyrus the 
Great the Jews were restored to their native land;, B. C. 
4-90^ and proceeded to rebuild the walls -of Jerusalem 
and the Temple; Sanballot^ the governor of Samaria, 
was anxious in corporation with his people^ to join Nehe- 
miah and the Jews in the enterprise. \'\Tien rejected 
by ISTehemiah and the elders of Israel^ becoming very 
hostile^, he hindered the work in every possible way^ so 
that Nehemith ordered the men of Israel to go ahead 
building the walls^ with the sword in one hand and the 
trowel in the other. When Sanballot and the Samari- 
tans found themselves utterly rejected from an interest 
in Solomon^s temple ; they proceeded to build a rival 
temple on Mt. Gerizim. They erected a very magnificent 
temple on the summit of that great mountain. It is 
still a wonder to the traveller^ though somewhat in ruin 
by the many desolating wars which has swept over the 
land. 

A^Tien Jacob was traveling with his vast herds and 
flocks from Mesopotamia to the homestead at Beersheba 



Jesus Preaching Among the Gentiles. 159 

in South Canaan, he pitched his tent and dwelt in the 
valley of Succoth between Mt. Gerizim on the south, and 
Ebal on the north. Though the land is well watered, so 
many animals would be likely to suffer in case of an ex- 
cessive summer drouth, which is rather peculiar to that 
country. As a fortification against the liability of losing 
his stock during a water famine, Jacob dug this well 
ninety feet deep, finding never failing water. Jesus, 
when weary of His long walk, sat on the well, and so did 
I, thrilled with the thought that I am really in His 
track. The w^oman, very far from God, comes for 
water, is accosted by a stranger, whose Jewish identity 
she recognizes from his costume and physique, asking 
her for a drink of water. With no inclination to refuse 
the small favor, she tantalizes him a moment, referring 
to the implacable hostility between the two nations. He 
now proceeds to speak to her about the living water 
w^hich he gives ; eventually correcting her misapprehen- 
sion that his speaking of the water in the well. Having 
aroused her interest in the salvation he has already sym- 
bolically illustrated by the water ; he shoots a flaming ar- 
row directly into her heart, bj^ telling her all about her 
bad life in a word, thus pungently convicting her of sin 
and inspiring her recognition that he is a prophet, and 
at the same time arousing her suspicion, that he is really 
the Christ, for whom not only all Israel, but the entire 
heathen world were looking. 

Here 3^ou observe that He declares his Christhood to 
this woman unhesitatingly. Vs. 25-26. ^The woman says 
to him; I know that the Messiah cometh, who is called 
Christ; when he may come, he will proclaim to us all 
things.^^ Jesus says to her, ^^I who speak to thee am He/^ 



160 Life of Jesus and His Apostles. 

So you s^ that He does not hesitate to declare his 
Christhood among those heathen Samaritans. The rea- 
son of this is obvious. He knew that the Samaritans did 
not want a Jew for their king. You see as you read on 
in the chapter^ that this woman not only got converted^ 
but ran away and stirred the whole city by her thrilling 
testimony. Jesus remained two days preaching to them, 
receiving quite a number of converts. X. B. You rec- 
ognize the decisive contrast between the preaching of 
Jesus among the Jews and the Gentiles. With the latter 
he always declared his Christhood; with the former, 
never. 

II. TO THE PHOENICIANS. 

Mark 7 :24-30. On this occasion Jesus and his dis- 
ciples had gone away from the land of Israel to take a 
rest among the Gentiles in the region of Tjtq and Sidon. 
Meanwhile a S3Tophoenican woman; i. e., a mixed 
blood of Syria and Phoenecia^ denominated a Greek; 
because the Alexanderians had so scattered the Greeks 
throughout the whole worlds establishing them in all the 
governments, and putting them in the leadership of all 
nations, giving them such a degree of world-wide notor- 
iety and prominenice, m-aldng their language the learned 
vocabulary of the eduaational circles in every nation, so 
thai G-reek became 'symphonious with Gentile, designat- 
ing the whole world, except the Jews. When Jesus cast 
the demon out of this woman^s daughter he did not en- 
join seerecy as so frequently among the Jews. He knew 
the Phoenicians did not w^ant a Jew fo'r their king. 
These visits of Jesus, and His* ministry among the Gen- 



Jesus Preaching Among the Gentiles. 161 

tiles are brilliant iscintillations of the oncoming call and 
evangelization of the whole Gentile world. 

III. TO THE GADARENES. , 

When Jesus returned home to Nazareth after receiv- 
ing the Holy Ghost under the ministry of John at the- 
Jordan^ and preached his first sermon in the synagogue 
where he had worshiped thirty years; stirring, arousing 
and burning them (as the Holy Ghost preaching always 
does)^ till they rise in a mob^ determined to kill him; 
but the divinity coming to the rescue of the humanity^ 
he fled away to Capernaum^ making it his home during 
the two and a half years of his ministry in Galilee; it 
is said, Matt. 4 :14, ^That the word of Esaias may be ful- 
filled ; thou land of Zebulon and land of Nephthalim, by 
the way of the sea^ beyond the Jordan^ Galilee of the 
Gentiles ; the people sitting in darkness saw great light ; 
and those sitting in the valley and sihadow of death light 
sprang up.^^ That country was Gadara on the North- 
east coast of the Galilean sea ; Gergesa near the sea being 
the capital, a magnificent walled city. Consequently, 
Matt. 8:28, says that he went into the country of the 
Gergesenes, while Mark 5 :1-21 and Luke 8 :26-40 say 
that he and his disciples came into the country of the 
Gadarenes. His ministry there was quite brief, being 
arrested suddenly and abruptly by the popular protes- 
tation against the wholesale destruction of the swine, 
which had resulted from their possession of the legion 
of demons. 

I am not surprised that the occupancy of the two 
thousand hogs by the ten thousand demons- (i. 



162 Life of Jesus and His Apostles. 

e., five per capita)^ did resailt in their violent 
insanity and suicide. Five devils in one hog are 
certainly enough to run him crazy and cause 
him to kill himself. We have here a withering rebuke 
on the people^ demoniacally possessed on all sides and 
apparently sati:fied in their awful condition^ resigned 
to be the habitation of devils. We see the hogs^ utterly 
unwilling to acquiesce in such a fate^ but actually re- 
sorting to suicide^ rather than to let devils live in them. 
Here we see that when the legionary was so wonderfully 
delivered from the demons^ he wanted to go away with 
Jesus; but he sent him to his own people to preach to 
them the wonderful salvation which he had received 
at the hands of Jesus. That country is also called De- 
capoliS;, which means ten cities^, from decaj ten., and polis^ 
city. It is said that Pelk,, the city to which the Chris- 
tians fled from the destruction of Jerusalem, is also in 
that country ; and that the reason why they met a kind 
reception and found a safe retreat from the awful doom 
of their nation, who w^ere all either killed, sold into 
slavery, or led captive to Eome, except these fugitive dis- 
ciples of our Lord; was because this legionare in his 
evangelistic peregrination, had gone thither, preaching 
the unseardhable riches of Christ. You see how differ- 
ently Jesus treated this great and stupendous miracle 
from his uniform proceedure among the Jews; i. e., 
charging them not to tell his mighty works. The rea- 
son is obvious : the publicity of his miracles among the 
Jews, constantly conduced to foment the popular ex- 
citement in reference to his Messiahship everj^here pre- 
valent and excite the people to rise up in a mob too 
strong for the Eoman police, and crown him King of 



Jesus Preaching Among the Gentiles. 163 

the Jews, which would surely bring a Eoman army with 
all possible expedition, inundate the country with a 
cruel, bloody war, bound to end in his crucifixion, as it 
did one year hence. But you see that instead of charg- 
ing the Gadarene not to tell it, he ordered him to go 
and proclaim everything throughout the whole country ; 
from the obvious reason that the Gf^adarenes did not 
want a Jew to be their king. 

We see here a mournful episode admonishing all peo- 
ple to beware how they treat Jesus. You see here when 
they unanimously asked him to leave their country, he 
went away and never returned. I was so profoundly im^ 
pressed wdth this fatal transaction, when I visited that 
land, and saw its utter desolation^ without an inhabitant 
except the wandering Bedouins, who use it as a graz- 
ing ground, pitching their tents here and there, and 
roaming hither and thither with their innumerable 
camels, donkeys, sheep, goats and cattle. Methinks I see 
Jesus and His apostles sadly acquiescent in the request of 
all the Gadarenes to leave their country. They embark in 
their ship and sail away, the hulk appearing smaller and 
smaller as it glides off, till eclipsed in ether blue and 
lost sight of in the dashing spray; thus forever sealing 
the death knell of those people. What has been the re- 
sult ? They have utterly perished from the face cf the 
earth. There is not a Gadarene beneath the skies. Such 
will be the doom of all people who request Jesus to 
leave them. He will go and never return. He is not 
going to stay where he is not wanted. How my heart 
did soliloquise as I walked around on the ruined walls 
of Gergesa, their capital ! Beware how you treat Jesus ! 
He is certain to visit you. But equally certain to leave 



164 Life of Jesus and His Apostles, 

you if you ask Him to go away and let you alone ; and 
equally certain never to come back. 

IV. TO THE SYRIANS. 

When Jesus had preached about twenty-seven months 
in Galilee^ resisting all the efforts of the JcwSn, to ob- 
tain from Him a public declamation of his Christhood; 
even John the Baptist^ having done his utmost to evoke 
such a proclamation ; we see him the finale, bid adieu to 
the land of Israel and proceed up the Jordan valley to 
its source^ where a beautiful limpid river it gushes from 
the base of great Mt. Herman, hard by the city of Cesar- 
ea Philippi, just over the northern border of Galilee 
and in Syria. We see very obviously that the end for 
which he has come thither, is to publicly proclaim his 
Christhood. These Syrians, like the Samaritans, 
Phoenicians and Gadarenes, did not want a Jew for 
their king. Such a thing would have been high treason 
against Benhadad, the king of Syria, whose loyal sub- 
jects they were. On the summit of one of the Herman 
moimtains, great and mejestic, I saw the ruins of a pow- 
erful citadel, celebrated as a stronghold during the mid- 
dle ages; also the ruins of a magnificent temple, said to 
have been built by Herod the Great. This is certified to 
have been the place where Jesus publicly proclaimed 
his Messiahship. Matt. 16 :13-20. ^^Jesus having come 
into the parts of Cesarea Philippi asked his disciples, 
sajdng, Whom do the people say that I, the Son of Man. 
am? They said, Some say John the Baptist; others 
Elijah; and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets. He 
siays to them, but whom do you say that I am? Simon 



% 

The Transfiguration, 165 

Peter, responding said ; thou art the Christ, the Son of 
the living God. Jesus responding, said to him, Blessed 
art thou Simon, the son of Jonah; because flesh and 
blood have not revealed it unto thee, but my Father who 
art in the heavens. And I say unto thee, that thou art 
Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and 
the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. And I 
will give unto thee the keys of the Kingdom of the 
Heavens; and whatsoever thou mayest bind on the 
earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatsoever thou 
shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Then 
He charged His disciple that they should tell no one 
that he himself is the Christ. This is the first time he 
has publicly declared his Christhood to his apostles. 

Suppose he had done this among the Jews, as you 
well know his track was thronged by myriads; they 
would certainly have revolted against the Romany, and 
proceeded at once to cro-wn Him King of the Jews in 
the succession of his Father David, thus precipitating 
the whole nation into a stormy revolution, bound to ul- 
timate in His death; as the vast Eoman world was 
against them. Peter, the eldest of the apostles, simply 
here acts in the capacity of their representative speaker. 

During both of my visits to Eome, I saw super- 
scribed in letters nine feet long in the Latin language, 
about three hundred feet high on the interior of the vast 
edifice 835 feet long, 330 feet wide and 448 feet high, 
all solid marble, built at the cost of two hundred mill- 
ions of dollars, occupying two hundred years in the exe- 
cution of the work, the greatest monument of idolatry 
on the earth, the expenditure sufficient to put the Bible 
in every home beneath the skies. The papistical con- 



166 Life of Jesus and His Apostles. 

struction of our Savior^s words to Peter (v. 18) is^ that 
the church was built by him^ whom they claim to have 
been the first Pope^ corroborating the hypothesis^ that 
the Pope is really the pillar of the churchy the vicar of 
Christ and the vicegerent on the earth. This is all ut- 
terly untrue^ as there never was a Pope till A. D. 606, 
when Procas, the King of Italy^ crowned Boniface III. 
Bishop of Eome^ supreme pontificate of all the churches. 
Besides their construction of thei words of our Savior at 
this point is untenable. Peter is a Greek word which 
means rock, not the great unbroken stratum, but a frag- 
ment of stone^ which has been taken out of the quarry, 
and such as you see in buildings. In this passage we 
have petros, which applies to Peter, and petra, whict 
does not mean a piece of stone like petros, but the vasi 
unbroken stratum, which underlies the continents and 
oceans, constituting the solid crust of the earth. This 
wordt applies to Christ himself, Matt. 6 :24, and else- 
where in both Testaments ; setting forth the fact that the 
Christhood of Jesus becomes from that moment the 
great and eternal truth on which the whole church is 
to be built up in all nations and ages., till superceded 
by the glorious Millennial theocracy when the Lord re- 
turns to conquer and reign forever. The key power here 
is the word of the Lord, which he gave to Peter as the 
representative of the twelve, and is transmitted to their 
successors; i. e., the ministry whom God calls and em- 
powers, to preach the everlasting gospel to all nations, 
with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven. V. 2L 
^Trom that time Jesus began to show to his disciples, 
that it behoove him to go away to Jerusalem and to 
suffer many things by the elders, chief priests and 



The Transfiguration. 167 

scribes and to be put to death and to rise the third day. 
And Peter drawing Him to him began to rebuke him 
saying, be it far from thee, this shall not be unto thee, 
and turning he said to Peter, Get behind me, adversary ; 
thou art my stumbling block, because thou art not think- ' 
ing about the things of God, but the things of men. 
This revelation broke in upon them like a thunder clap 
from a cloudless sky. Elated with the confession of his 
Christhood, and settled as all the Jews were in their con- 
victions, that Christ is to be their king, encumbered the 
throne of David, beard the Roman yoke, established the 
kingdom of Israel, predominant over all their enemies, 
to eclip-se the glory of David and Solomon, conquer the 
world and stand forever. Which is true of His second 
and glorious coming, which eclipsed and supplanted 
from their minds, the distinct apprehension of his first 
advent into the world to suffer and die, and thus redeem 
Adamic race from death and hell. Before the apostles 
reeeived the sanctifying fires of Pentecost, they were like 
all other Christians, carnal and worldly and without the 
perfect inward light of the Holy Ghost, which is indis- 
pensable to the apprehension of spiritual things. ^Sa- 
tan (v. 23, E. V.) is too strong, as the Greek is not cap- 
italized, showing that the word is simply used in its lit- 
eral sense with its lexical meaning adversary. The Sa- 
vior did not call him the devil, as you conclude from the 
E. v., but simply an opposer to the deep things of God 
involved in the vicarious atonement, which Jesus came 
to make ; and Peter had his mind on the brilliant career 
of the Christhood, which will be verified in his second 
coming. Here we have our Lord^s first revelation of his 
own' awful sufferings, tragical death, and triumphant 



X&S Life of Jesus and His Apostles. 

xesurreciion. Peter was a very sanguine, quick, spright- 
ij, impulsive man. The idea he got was, that His ene- 
mies would get the advantage of him and kill him, 
Peter instantly grabs the arm, draws Him to him, sim- 
ultaneously and impulsively assuring Him : "Eest easy 
about that, Lord, for they can^t do it. We will all light 
and die in our tracks for you/^ Though the Lord 
twice after this made the same revelation to the apostles ; 
it was so hidden from them by the Holy Ghost, that 
they never did apprehend and realize the force of it. 
This was providential. If they had understood it they 
would have stirred up a great civil war, in which the 
friends of Jesus would have fought^ bled and died for 
Him. Peter, like Napoleon Bonaparte, would have 
mounted his war-horse and led the embattled host. 



CHAPTER VII. 



THE TRANSFIGURATION. 



Matt. 42 :1.13 ; Mark 9 :2-13 and Luke 9 :38-36. All 
iiistorians are bewildered with reference to the identity 
of this mountain. They have generally given their 
vote in favor of Tabor. Origin^ the greatest writer of 
his day^ who lived in the third century^ says it was 
Tabor. The Christians actually built the three Taber- 
nacles (v. 4 — one to Jesus^ one to Moses^ and one to 
Elias) on that mountain. I have been in them all. The 
Monks who keep the convent^ argue the claims of that 
mountain very stoutly. Others believe it was the Mount 
of Beatitudes north of Capernaum. Others again claim 
that it was Carmel; while still others believe it was one 
of the mountains of Herman^ which gather about 
Cesarea Philippi. The impossibility of an accurate dis- 
crimination in the case^ arises from the fact that the 
scene took place six days subsequent to the preceding 
discourse^, in which he declared his Christhood to his 
apostles. As we have no record during those six days, 
we do not know whether the traveled or not. There is 
lat least a probability that they might have traveled from 
Csesarea Philippi during those days ; and it is only about 
isixty miles down he Jordan Valley to Capernaum, where 
we find the next record of their w'hereabouts. It might 
have been the Mount of Beatitudes, which hangs over 
Capernaum, or Mt. Hattan, which hangs over Tiberius 
on the west coast. Besides, it is only about forty miles 

169 



170 Life of Jesus and His Apostles. 

from Capernaum to Mt. Tabor, which has the precedence 

of all others in point of history. The scene is so won- 
derful, absorbing, thrilling and impressive, that the 
mountain, if definitely known, would be the center of 
boundless superstitions, leading to idolatry. I trow this 
is the reason the Lord did not give its name. ^^Truly I 
say unto you, there are some of those standing here who 
may taste not of death, until they may see the Son of 
Man coming in His kingdom^^ (Matt. 9 :2'8). ^"^For who- 
soever shall be ashamed of me and my words in this 
adulterous and sinful world, truly the Son -of man shall 
be ashamed of him when He shall come in the glory of 
His Father with the holy angels. And He said to them. 
Truly I say unto you, that there are certain ones of those 
standing here who may not taste death, until they may 
see the kingdom of God having come in power.^^ Mark 
7 :38 ; 9 :1. ^Tor whosoever shall be ashamed of me and 
my words, the Son of man shall be ashamed of him 
when He may come in His glory and that of the Father 
and the holy angels. But I say unto you, truly there are 
some of those standing here, who may not taste of death 
until they may see the kingdom of God.^^ Luke 9 :26, 27. 
•'Tor not f oUowng cunningly devised f ables',have we made 
known unto you the power and cunning of our Lord Je- 
sus Christ, but being eye-witnesises of His majesty. For 
receiving from God the Father^ the honor and glory of 
such a voice having been borne to him by the excellent 
glory; this is my beloved Son in whom I am well 
pleased. And we heard this voice being borne down 
from Heaven, being alone with Him in the holy mount.'^ 
2 Peter 1 :16-18. 

Here we see that Peter affirms that they did witness 



The Transfiguration, 171 

his coining, power and glory when they were with them 
on the holy mount, as Jesus had told them that they 
should not taste of death until they should see the king- 
dom of God come with power and glory. It is a signifi- 
cant fact that this prophecy actually received a grand 
adumbratory fulfillment on the Mount of Transfigura- 
tion. The also six days here in which we have no record 
of anything taking place evidently have a symbolic sig- 
nification. In this very Scripture above quoted (ch. 3-8) 
we have the statement "^^that one day with the Lord is 
as a thousand years, and a thousand years is as one day.^^ 
God created the world in six days, I trow six thousand 
years, as geology abundantly evinces, and you see the 
Bible thousand-year-day corroborates. Then the Eden 
Sabbath, another thousand years, follows, terminating in 
the sad eclipse of the fall, turning the world over to» Sa- 
tan (2 Cor. 4:4), the week of hard toil, suffering, sor- 
row, bloodshed and death supervenes, with his heavy 
tread of six thousand years, whose black darkness is des- 
tined to recede before the Sun of Eighteousness, rising 
with the healing of His wings and ushering in the glori- 
ous Millennial Sabbath, destined to accumulate new 
brightness through the triumphant roll of another thou- 
sand years. The testimony of Peter here beautifully 
corroborates the prediction of Jesus that some of them 
would be eyewitnesses of His coming, power and glory, 
before they should ever taste of death. How significant- 
ly it was verified in case of Peter, James and John, whe 
actually beheld His glory while with Him on the holy 
mount. Matthew, Mark and Luke all testify that the 
glory of Jesus, Mose-s and Elijah was such that no 
tongue could describe the splendor and grandeur. The 



172 Life of Jesus and His Apostles. 

eolation of the matter^ the harmonization of Peter^s tes- 
timony^ that of the three Gospel writers^ and the proph- 
esy of Jesus^ clearly involves the conclusion that this 
transfiguration scene was really a prelude adumbrating 
the Lord^s second comings after the similitude of His 
glorious coming to Paul on Damascus road ; unlike His 
proleptical appearing to Abraham at Mamre^, and Nebu- 
chadnezzar at Babylon^ anticipatory of His inclination 
and first advent. In the transfiguration we have the 
whole human race represented by Moses and Elijah^ Je- 
sus himself being the infallible Paragon. (X. B. — The 
scene took place in the nighty, occupying all of it.) Mean- 
while Moses and Elijah were seen to depart^ and Jesus 
remained;, signifying their resignation of their delegated 
and expiring power. Moses represented all who will en- 
ter the transfiguration glory through the resurrection^ 
as the record says that he died and God buried him. 
Jude 9 gives us an epitomized history of a terrible con- 
flict between the archangel Michael and the Devil over 
the body of Moses^ which certainly involves the conclu- 
sion of his resurrection^ as tlie Devil never fights over 
the dead^ but the living. If he had never conquered the 
human body^ it would never die^ so long as your soul is 
dicad^ the devil is satisfied with you^ and will waste no 
ammunition on you. The same is true in reference to 
the body. Hence the deviFs fight with the archangel 
over the body of Moses simply involves the conclusion 
that Michael;, responsive to the divine mandate, had 
come down to raise M'oses from the dead. This is cor- 
roborated by Daniel (oh. 12), where you see the Arch- 
angel Michael is coming down (doubtless in command 
of the resurrection angels), when the bride of Christ 



The Transfiguration. 17g 

will be raised^ and thus delivered from the great tribula- 
tion. Hence you see the presence of Moses in the trans- 
figuration giory is the confirmation that the buried 
saints will ail be glorified through the resurrection. 
Meanwhile the presence of Elijah^ the greatest of the 
prophetS;, is the confirmation that all the saints^ who 
shall be living on the earth when the Lord comes in His 
transfiguration glory^ will also be transfigured. The 
scene of the transfiguration should ever move in a ce- 
lestial panorama before the contemplative eyes of every 
soul aspiring to that transcendent glory. As it will take 
plaee when the Lord returns to the earthy for which we 
should be in constant outlook^ and we know not the mo- 
ment of His appearing;, therefore our true attitude is 
that of constant readiness and expectation of the trans- 
figuration. When Jesus and the three apostles came 
down from the mountain, they found a great multitude 
assembled and all excited over a notable case of de- 
moniacal ejectment — a poor little boy so possessed with 
an awful demon which has rendered him both dumb and 
deaf^ at the same time afSicting him with an awful epi- 
lepsy ; so that the paroxj' sm coming on him he often 
falls into the water. The father testifies that he has 
been thus afflicted from his childhood. Doubtless much 
of the epilepsy now prevalent and filling our asylums 
with sufferers, is caused by a similar demoniacal posses- 
sion. When the crowd sees Jesus, they begin to run to 
Him from all directions, eager to see what He will do. 
Jesus sees they are going to throng Him, so He expe- 
dites the work while He has room, commanding the deaf 
and dumb spirit to come out of him and come no tciotq 
into him. That very moment the evil spirit seizing, 



174 Life of Jesus and His Apostles. 

convulsed him much and came out^ leaving the bay 
looking like a corpse^ bloodless, lifeless, cold, ashy and 
ghastly, so that many contended he was dead. Jesus, 
taking him by the hand, lifted him up, and he was all 
right. The utterance of our "Lord (v. 23) is very in- 
spiring; responsive to the father, he said, "If you are 
able to believe, all things are possible to him that be- 
lieveth.^^ I am well acquainted with Eev. E. J. Terrell, 
of the Kentucky Conference, and Eev. Bud Eobinson, 
of Greenville, Texas, who were hopeless epileptics and 
miraculously healed like this young man. We should 
all constantly remember the omnipotence of faith as 
here affirmed by our wonderful Savior. 

Mark 9 : 14-2 9. We here have a most vivid and im- 
pressive contrast between the unearthly transfiguration 
glory on the mountain summit and the diabolical rage of 
hell manifested in this awfully stubborn devil down in 
the valley, illustrating the mixed character of this world 
— a prelibation both of heaven and hell, the former real- 
ized in a life of spiritual elevation, dwelling on the 
Mount of God, where the light of the supernatural glory 
shines night and day ; and the other in the low, foggy, 
miasmatic regions of the earth, where poisonous reptiles, 
croaking frogs and doleful creatures abound, and the 
inhabitants are contaminated with the breath of hell and 
possessed by demons. We see here that Jesus repri- 
manded the nine apostles for the weakness of their faith 
and their consequent failure to eject the demon, remind- 
ing them that if they had faith as a grain of mustard 
seed they would actually be competent to remove moun- 
tains of difficulty confronting them in the spiritual 
world. 



The Transfiguration. 175 

JESUS CALLS AKD SENDS THE SEVENTY. 

Luke 10 :1-16. Almost t^To and a half years have al- 
ready flown^ leaving but six months in which to finish 
His work. He assumed to go to Jenisalem^ where He 
must beard the lion in his den. What a paradox ! Je- 
rusalem, the City of God, and headquarters of the 
church, has actually become the stronghold of hell on 
the earth, where Jesus well knows it will cost Him His 
life to preach the truth. Why was this? Simply be- 
cause Satan had succeeded in capturing the leading 
clergy and the ruling eldership of the church. Shall we 
never learn wisdom ? Know ye not that the same history 
is this day repeating itself from Dan to Beersheba ? In 
view of the significant fact that He has now but six 
months in which to finish the work for which He left 
Heaven and came to this land of sin and sorrow ; in or- 
der to expedite the work. He calls out seventy others, 
making thirty-five evangelistic bands, each led by a God- 
ordained and heaven-sent duet, exhorting them to go 
with all possible expedition from city to city, preaching 
the gospel of the kingdom, reminding them to open wide 
the door of gospel grace to all who will enter, and to 
those w^ho reject them with contempt, to knock off the 
dust from their feet, assuring them at the same time 
that it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon and 
Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment, than for 
the Jewish cities which reject gospel light; whereas Sodom 
and Gomorrah, and Tyre and Sidon were heathen cities 
which never did hear the civil notes of gospel grace, set- 
ting forth the fact that the most awful doom awaiting 
the wicked in the judgment day is destined to overtake 



17G Life of Jesus and I^os Apostles. 

those who have rejected the brightest noonday gospel 
light and opportunity. The commission of the seventy, 
in addition to the twelve, exceedingly augmented their 
already tremendous responsibilities of the Jewish church 
and nation. 

FESTIVAL OF TABERNACLES. 

Whereas the Passover symbolizes regeneration, mark- 
ing the epoch of Israels national birth, and Pentecost, 
sanctification, the feasts of Tabernacles, which came off 
about the last of September and first of October, typified, 
glorification. 

Eighteen months have rolled away since Jesus was in. 
Jerusalem, or even Judea, or elsewhere in South Canaan.. 
Meanwhile the hierarchy have been making their boasts 
that they have completely scared Him away, and His 
face will be seen no more in that country, at the same 
time adding their threats to kill Him should He ever 
come back, feeling His absence from the third Passover 
ominous of His utter abandonment of Jerusalem and 
the South. And the feast of the Jews, and that of Tab- 
ernacles was nigh. ^^Then His brothers said unto Him, 
^Depart thence and go into Judea in order that Thy dis- 
ciples may see Thy work which Thou art doing. For no- 
one does anything in secret and himself seeks to be pub* 
lie. If you do these things, manifest yourself to the 
world. For His brothers were not believing on Him' '^ 
(John 7:2-5). He had four brothers and some sisters, 
evidently all younger than Himself. The names of the 
former were James, Judas, Simon and Joses. We natur- 
al! v wonder that His own brothers did not believe on 
Him. There is no doubt that they did believe He was a 



The Transfiguration, 11^ 

prophet^ but found it exceedingly difficult to accept the 
paradoxical idea that He was the Christ. This origi- 
nated from the fact that they were reared together 
in the same family. They all frankly admitted that He 
was wonderfully good all His life^ while the idea that 
their own brother Jesus was the Shiloh of prophecy, the 
Christ of God, the Kedeemer of Israel, and the Savior 
of the world, was too much for them to take in. Thus 
they stood in the attitude of hesitating incredulity till 
they crucified Him. Then they said, ^^Our precious 
Brother was surely a mighty prophet of the Lord, hav- 
ing great power, and, like Elijah and Elisha, perform- 
ing wondrous miracles; 3'et He ventured too far, let 
His enemies get the advantage of Him; consequently 
He has sadly fallen victim to their cruelty.^^ But a few 
hours of weeping roll away, and their brother Jesus 
rises, walks out of the sepulchre, and they again see Him 
alive. All their doubts now evanesce. They leap into 
the air with tremendous shouts^ roll on the earth with 
rhapsody unutterable, and shout aloud to everybody, 
^^Be it known to all the world, that after all, our Brother 
Jesus is none other than the world^s Messiah, the Christ 
of God and the Eedeemer of Israel.^^ Xot only do the 
four become enthusiastic disciples, but James and Judas 
are actually honored with a place in the apostleship, the 
former being installed pastor in Jerusalem. 

Though He declined the solicitation of His brothers 
to go to the feast, sending them on with the gathering 
multitudes. He goes up in a few days, arriving midway 
in the festival ; i. e., Wednesday, as it opened and closed 
on the Sabbath, occupying eight days. Doubtless His re- 
fusal to go with the crowd at the beginning was to avoid 



2»j'g Life of Jesus and His Apostles. 

it, which would arise, pending His anticipated corona- 
tion. 

THE ril^AL DEPARTURE OF JESUS FROM GALILEE. 

Having devoted five-sixths of His ministry to Galilee^ 
He now takes His final adieu of the land where He spent 
the thirty years of His minority, and two and a half 
3'ears of His Messianic ministry. So now He departs 
for Jerusalem, to return thither no more till after He 
shall have passed through the dark valley of death 
and moved on into the life of glory and immortality. 
Then He contemplates meeting a previous appointment 
with His disciples on some unmentioned Galilean moim- 
tain, I trow that of Beatitudes. During His peregrina- 
tion up to Jerusalem ^^He sent messengers before His 
face; having gone forth, they entered into a vilbge of 
the Samaritans, so as to prepare for Him. Aod they 
did not receive Him because His face was going to Je- 
rusalem. His disciples, James and John, seeing, said, 
Lord, do you wish that we would demand fire to come 
down from Heaven and destroy them as Elijah did? 
And turning, He rebuked them and said, Do you know 
of what spirit you are, for the Son of Man came not to 
destroy the souls of men, but to save them. And they 
journeyed into another village.^' I traveled along that 
same route, the old Caravan road, used in the days of 
Abraham andi the transportation of commerce from Da- 
mascus to Jerusalem, and all the way from Mesopotamia 
to Egypt. It was then carried on the camel's back, and 
so it is now. I met many long trains of those great ani- 
mals loaded with merchandise, when I traveled that 
route. From the Sea o^ Galilee, through Samaria to 
Jerusalem, you pass by the old City of Samaria, near 



The Tj^ans figuration, 179 

which Elijah actually called the fire down from Heaven 
. to consume Ahab's soldiers, sent to arrest him. I trow 
the village that rejected Christ stood on the same spot. 
Here we see He reprimands James and John for their 
retaliatory spirit, which might comport with right- 
eous retribution under the law, but was utterly incom- 
patible with the benignant love and mercy character- 
istic of the gospel. Luke 9 :51-56. 

THE TEN LEPERS. 

Luke 17 :11-19. On this same journey of our Lord 
from Galilee to Jerusalem ten lepers met Him, standi 
ing afar off, lifting up their voices and pleading for 
mercy. With characteristic benignity and mercy, He 
heals them all, sending them away to the priest, to re- 
ceive his diagnosis and certificate, ensuring them ad- 
mission to the synagogue woi^hip. While the ten are all 
healed, only one turns back, shouts jubilantly and testi- 
fies to the mighty work. "And He said to him; having 
arisen, go; thy faith hath saved thee.^^ Here you see a 
confirmation of the fact that the Lord heals sinners as 
well as saints. This is confirmed by the fact that the 
ten were all healed, whereas only one got saved. How- 
ever, we must recognize the fact that the sanctified spir- 
it is the normal attitude of bodily healing. 



CHAPTER VIIL 

JESUS PREACHES IN JERUSALEM. 

The Feast of Tabernacles is midway when Jesus ar- 
rives on Wednesday to the unutterable astonishment of 
all, as He had declined the appeals of all in Galilee, even 
of His brothers. The word ^^Temple/^ occurring so fre- 
quently in the New Testament, not only included the 
magnificent edifice built by King Solomon, but many 
other buildings, great and costly, besides the en- 
tire holy Campus lying in front of the Tem- 
ple, and stretching out to the east, north and south, 
and including thirty-five acres of beautiful table land 
on the summit of Mt. Moriah. In this hallowed area, 
the Jews pitched their tents in which they dwelt dur- 
ing the eight days occupied by the holy convocation. 
On this holy Campus in the open air, Jesus preached 
his glorious gospel to the spellbound multitudes. 

VOLITION IS THE CONDITION OF SPIRITUAL ILLUMI- 
NATION. 

John 6:15-17. "Then Jesus responded to them 
and said. My teaching is not mine, but of Him that 
sent me; if anyone may will to do His will, he shall 
know concerning the teaching whether it is of God or I 
speak for myself.^^ The E. V. in this strong and im- 
portant passage is quite inadequate, making theli, may 
wall, an auxiliary to the verb translated do; whereas, it 

180 



Jesus Preaches in Jerusalem. Ijj 

is the independent leading verb in the sentence; set- 
ting forth the declaration of our Lord^ that when you 
actually put forth volition to do the will of Grod, He will 
reveal to you the truth. The great reason why so few 
people actually know the truth of Grod^ is because they 
are not fully committed to it. In that case the Holy 
Spirit is grieved with the proud and stubborn heart, and 
wdll not reveal the truth;, because He knows it would be 
contemned. This explains the great secret of sanctifica- 
tion; so many saying they cannot understand it. The 
real difficulty is not with the intellect^ but with the heart. 
When they f.uUy, unreservedly and eternally consecrate 
themselves to the Lord^ settling the matter, that they 
will do His will if right hands, feet, and eyes all come 
off, and they lose their heads; then there will be no 
trouble about understanding it. The whole matter will 
he elucidated by the Holy Ghost to the utmost sim- 
plicity. 

Did not Moses give you the law? And no one of 
you doeth the law. Why do you seek to kill me? The 
multitude responded. Thou hast a demon who seeks to 
kill thee? The person thus responding from the mul- 
titude did not know that they were actually plotting to 
kill Him, but He knew it. They were charging Him ve- 
hemently because he healed people on the Sabbath day, 
alleging that this was a violation. As the law of Moses 
specified that Sabbath breakers should be stoned, they 
were doing their utmost to implicate Him in the penal- 
ty of the law that they might put him to death. ^^And 
many of the multitude believed on Him, and continued 
to say, When Christ may come will He do more miracles 
than those which this one does? The Pharisees heard 



j^82 Life of Jesus and His Apostles. 

the multitude speaking these things concerning Hini^ 
in an undei^tone^ and the chief priests and Pharisees sent 
officers that they should arrest Him. Vs. 31-32. . . , 
45-52 When the officers came to the chief priests and 
Pharisees they said to them, Wherefore did not you lead 
him along? The officers responded, Never did a man 
speak as this man is speaking. The Pharisees respond- 
ed to them. Whether are you also deceived, whether has 
either one of the rulers or Pharisees believed on Him ? 
But this multitude not knowing the law are accused. 
Nicodemus says to them, being one of them, Whether 
does the law condemn a man unless it may first hear 
concerning him and know what he doeth? They re- 
sponded and said to him, Whether art thou also from 
Galilee? Search and see that no prophet rises from 
Galilee.^^ A prominent attitude of fallen ecelesiasticism. 
has always been to magnify personality, which is flatly 
contradictory of the Scriptures, which assure us, that 
there is no respecter of persons. 

Nicodemus had never forgotten his nocturnal in- 
terview with Jesus two and a half years ago. Though 
an able doctor of divinity and a member of the Sanhe^ 
drim, he ventures to vindicate Jesusi in the midst of the 
tall theologians thirsting for His blood; recognizing 
this affirmation of Jewish criminal law, by Nicodemus; 
j'Ou readily observe that Jesus was really mobbed, be- 
ing deprived of. a legal trial. Festus, the Eoman gov- 
ernor in the prosecution of Paul, makes the same 
affirmation in reference to Eoman law. Therefore, you 
see that Jesus was murdered defiantly of both Jewish 
and Eoman law. Here you see that the Sanhedrim, 
whose hall is on Mt. Zion in the west end of the city. 



Jesus Preaches In Jerusacem. 183 

sent their oflBcial cotiort to the Temple Campus, which 
is in the east end, with orders to arrest Him and bring 
Him before them for trial. After mucli delay the 
guards returned without Him, having made a signal 
failure. As He had six months of His ministry not yet 
fulfilled, it was impossible for all the powers of earth 
and hell to take Him prisoner. The moment they at- 
tempted to lay hands on Him, an indefinable paralysis 
utterly disqualified them to touch Him. 

HOLY RIVERS OF LIVING WATERS FLOWING OUT OF 
THE HEART. 

37-44 "And in the last great day of the feast Jesus 
etood and continued to cry out, saying, If any one thirsty 
let him come and drink. He that believeth on me, as the 
Scripture said> rivers of living waters shall flow out of 
his heart.^-' He spoke this concerning the Spirit, whom 
those believing on Him were about to receive; for the 
Spirit was not yet, because Jesus was not yet glorified; 
therefore, those from the multitude hearing those words 
continued to s'ay, ^^This one is truly the prophet/^ Others 
said, ^'^He is the Chnist^^ ; others said, ^Tor whether does 
Christ come out of Galilee ?^^ Did not the Scrptures say 
that Christ cometh from the seed of David and from 
the village of Bethlehem, w^here David was? Then there 
was a division in the multitude on account of him ; and 
certan ones there wished to arrest Him, but no one laid 
hands on Him. Bethlehem is only eight miles from Je- 
rusalem. Hence the ignorance of the people was re- 
markable, not knowing that Jesus was really born there 
according to the Scriptures they quoted. The mind in- 



184 Life of Jesus and His Apostles, 

tuitively wonders why Jesus did not correct this mis- 
take on the part of His account. Oh^thow easily at this 
point could' He have vindicated Himself! But it is 
pertinent to remember that He was not here for self- 
vindication, hut to preach the truth and atone for a lost 
world. The Scripture referred to in V. 38, is Ez. 47 :1- 
13, where the prophet describes the holy waters, flowing 
out from the Temple; first ankle deep, illustrating your 
walk with God, going only where He goes. Then he 
finds them knee deep, setting forth prayer without ceas- 
ing, as the knee is the worshipping joint. Afterward, he 
finds them loin deep, exhibitory of service with all the 
power of body, soul, spirit and life. Finally, they are 
a swelling river, impassable, broadening and deepening 
into a sea without bank or bottom^ thus vividly elucidat- 
ing that final sinking into God, oblivious to all transi- 
tory things, which is the normal result of the glorious 
experience of entire sanctification, involving sin^s extir- 
pation by the cleansing blood, as this river heads at the 
south end of the altar where all the blood of the sacri- 
fice was poured, thus manifesting the grand negative 
experience through the cleansing blood ; while the flow- 
ing waters swelling into grander magnitudes, rising into 
loftier heights, reaching down into unfathomable 
depths, and broadening into swelling seas, pertinently 
symbolize the glorious positive side of the sanctified side 
of experience; which unlike the negative, definite and 
complete under the cleansing blood, is illimitably pro- 
gressive not only through this life, but on through tne 
flight of eternal ages. While the Holy Ghost has been 
in the world from the beginning, Gen. 1, Jesus here al- 
ludies to His persional coming on the Day of Pentecost 



Jesus Preaches in Jerusalem, 185 

as His personal successor, the Executive of the Trinity, 
through the dispensation. Jesus gave the reason why 
His coming in the capacity of Comforter was postponed 
till after the crucifixion, when He was glorified. The 
Holy Grhost comforts us through the medium of our im- 
mortal intellects. The patriarchs, prophets and Old 
Testament saints were saved by faith in the prophetic 
Christ, looking through the myriads of bleeding birds 
and beasts on Jewish altars slain, down through the 
rolling ages, till the illuminated eye rested on the Great 
Antitype bleeding and dying on the cross of Calvary; 
thus making a complete atonement for all their sins. 
Oh, how infinitely easier for us to look back through the 
centuries of indubitable history and see, by faith, the 
"Lamb of God that taketh away the sins of the world.''^ 
Jesus three times over, especially and distinctly pre- 
dicted His own tragical and vicarious death, repeatedly 
telling the people that He would return, in the person 
of the Holy Ghost, whom they could not kill, because 
He had no mortal body. The perfect and eternal expia- 
tion wrought on Calvary, swept every obstruction out 
of the way of these holy waters, coming in a mighty 
swelling river, broadening into a sea and inundating the 
world. It is pertinent here to state that John 8 :1-11, 
giving the history of the adulterous woman in E.V., does 
not appear in the original. Hence it is an interpola- 
tion, doubtless brought in by a corrupt clergy in the 
post-apostolic ages as an apology for sin. 

THE GLORIOUS LIBERTY. 

John 8 :30-36. "He, speaking these things, many be- 



186 Life of Jesus and His Apostles. 

lieved on Him. Then Jesus said to the Jews having be- 
lieved on Him, If you may abide in my word, you are 
truly my disciples, and you shall know the truth and 
the truth shall make you free. They responded to Him. 
We are the seed of Abraham, we have never been in bond- 
age to anyone; how do you say that you shall be free? 
Jesus responded to them, Truly, truly, I say unto you^ 
that every one committing sin, is the slave of sin. The 
slave does not abide in the house forever; the Son abid* 
eth forever; therefore, if the Son may make you free, 
you shall indeed be free.^^ In this discourse He address^ 
es the people who believed on Him intellectually, but 
not spiritually. I trow even their intellectual faith ter- 
minated with the apprehension that He was a prophet; 
perhaps a few in Hi& audience rising to the higher con- 
ception of his Christhood. You have in their testimony 
a vivid illustration of that spiritual blindness, which 
so frequently characterizes preachers and people occupy- 
ing prominent positions in the visible church. Here 
they certify, we have never been in bondage to anyone, 
when they were two hundred years in bondage to the 
Egyptians, and even at that time actually in bondage 
to the Eomans, their government gone and ruled over 
by a cruel despotism. In conversion you are made free 
in a general sense, i. e., free from the condemnation 
of the violated law, and the service of the devil ; but not 
free from the carnal mind, which wages an exterminat- 
ing war against you, but striving constantly to bring you 
into bondage. Sanctification is the glorious work which 
makes you "free indeed.^^ 



Jesus Preaches in JeriLsalem. 187 

THE WICKED^ THE CHILDREN OF SATAN. 

37-59. '^I know that you are the seed of Abraham; 
but you seek to kill me, because my word has no place in 
you. I speak those things which I have seen with the 
Father; moreover, indeed you are doing those things 
which you heard of your father. They responded and 
said to him : Abraham is our father. Jesus says to them, 
if you are the children of Abraham you would do the 
works of Abraham; but now you seek to kill me, a man 
who has spoken to you the truth, which I heard with 
God; Abraham did not this. You are doing the works 
of your father. They said to him. We have not been 
born of fornication, we have one Father, God. And 
Jesus said to them. If 'God were your Father you would 
love me; for I came out from God and I go; for I have 
not come for myself, but He sent me. Wherefore do you 
not know my speech? Because you were not able to 
hear my word. You are of your father, the devil, and 
you wish to do the lust of your father. He was a murr 
derer in the beginning, and stood not in the truth, be- 
cause there is no- truth in him.^^ 

Divine image and spiritual life were lost in the fall, 
and regained only in regeneration and made perfect in 
sanctification. While the image and likeness of God 
were spoliated away by the devel, he imparted his own 
corrupt and filthy image in their stead, superseding the 
mind of God with which we were created, by the carnal 
mind which is enmity toward God, for it is not sub- 
ject to the law of God ; for it can not be, Eom. 8 :7. Je- 
sus looks them in the face and tells them they do not 
know His speech because they are not able to hear His 



I88 Life of Jesus and His Apostles. 

word, while His words were that moment ringing in their 
ears. The solution is plain; while they heard with true 
mortal ears, their spiritual ears were closed and deaf, so 
they could not hear the words of life. A dead man has 
ears but does not hear anything. Our Savior's audi- 
ence were all members of the Jewish church, as the Gen- 
tile was prohibited from entering the Temple on pain 
of death. The priests, Pharisees and Sadducees were 
listening to His worde; yet He certifies that they could 
not hear them. 

This illustrates the absolute necessity of divine in- 
tervention. The Holy Ghost must come and open the 
ears of the human spirit, before they can ever hear and 
understand spiritual things. What a. wholesale delusion 
and bewilderment pervades the church and the world 
this day on the subject of the divine paternity. Mul- 
titudes of preachers have so drifted away into the 
heresies of Universalism, that they are preaching the di- 
vine paternity of the wicked, which you see flatly con- 
tradicts Jesus. His audience was not uncircumcised 
heathens, but all church members; yet He pronounces 
them the children of their father, the devil. Preachers 
habitually stand in the pulpit and address their audi- 
tors, as the children of God ; thus helping Satan to de- 
ceive them. Oh, how important it is to preach the truth 
and show up the diabolical paternity in case of all the 
unregenerate ! The supernatural intervention of the 
Holy Ghost and His omnipotent work of regeneration 
and sanctification, should flame in heavenly cyclonea 
from every pulpit. The Lord continued this sermon 
till He told them He had seen Abraham, (which was 
true not only of His divinity, but also of His humanity. 



Jesus Preaches in Jerusalem, 189 

which had visited Abraham at Mamre, 1900 years before 
He was born in Behlehem) ; also certifying His existence 
before Abraham was born. This brought up a crisis, so 
they took up stones to smite Him. As He yet had six 
months of His ministry to the wicked world and fallen 
churches, the divinity relieved the humanity by render- 
ing Him invisible, so He passed out of the Temple with 
impunity. Lord, help us to preach the truth so faith- 
fully, that we shall stir unconverted church members as 
Thou didst! 

THE MAN BORN BLIND. 

John 9. Jesus passing along sees a man blind from 

his birth; anoints his eyes with spittle and clay, and 
sends him away t6 the Pool of Siloam to wash. He re- 
turns flooded with joy over his newly found eyesight, 
perfectly enraptured with the gorgeous light of day. 
vrhich had never before shown down upon his sightless 
eyes. Unutterably glorious is the transition out of life- 
long midnight into the sunburst of Palestinian day. 
When his friends interview him in reference to the won- 
derful miracle of which he is the happy recipient, 
and inquire as to the authorship, he says, "I know 
not/^ Then they lead him to the Pharisees who 
are incredulous with reference to his identity, and the 
report that he was born blind. When they find his par- 
ents and they testify to his identity and blindness from 
his birth, they ask them who performed the mira- 
cle, and they answer, "We know that he was our son and 
he was born blind, but how he now sees we know not. 
Ask him, he is of age,^^ i, e., 30 years old. All the de- 
vices of the Pharisees signally fail to prevail on this 



100 Life of Jesus and His Apostles. 

man to indorse their condemnation of Jesus; the only 
allegation which they were able to bring against Him 
was that of violatingthe Sabbath. The reason whynearly 
every miracle here put to record was on the Sabbath^ was 
not because He did not perform them ever and anon on 
other days, but because the -enraged clergy had put their 
heads together to get up a case of condemnation under 
the law, the penalty for Sabbath-breaking being that of 
death by stoning. As they had no show on the line of 
any other charges, they made Sabbath-breaking and 
blasphemy their especial rallying point. This mam 
proved inflexible amid all their caprices and devices to 
run him into entanglements and contradictions and to 
secure his acquiescence and endorsement of the 
charges against Jesus, alleging that He was a sinner be- 
cause He did not keep the Sabbath. So they finally ca^t 
liim out, i. e., excommunicate him, turn him out of the 
church. Jesus meets him again, tells him that he is the 
Son of Man, i. e., the Christ, and proceeds to say v. 39, 
'^Unto the judgment have I come into this world, m or- 
der that those not seeing may see, and those seeing may 
be made blind. Those of the Pharisees being with him 
said to him. Whether are we blind? Jesus said to them 
If you were blind you would not have sin; but now you 
say that we see; your sin abideth.^^ So upon the inter- 
vention of Christ the physically blind received their 
sight and the spiritually blind also receive the light of 
heavenly day ; while those seeing are made blind. 

Before Jesus came, many among the Jews were walk 
ing in the light of justification; but when they closed 
their eye to the brighter light which Jesus brought into 
the world, the light they had enjoyed under the law and 



Jesus Preaches in Jerusalem, 19 -j^ 

the prophets evanesced away. We are now living in an 
age of judgment; multiplied thousands enjoying justi- 
fication lose it and go into darkness because they re- 
ject the brighter and more glorious light of sanctifica- 
tion. Jesus is everywhere in the present holiness move- 
ment bringing in the bright and beautiful light of holi- 
ness of the Lord. Thousands walking in darkness re- 
ceive the light and rejoice in it; while many who have 
the light of a lower dispensation, like the Jews, are go- 
ing into spiritual darkness, resting in dead formality, 
because they reject the bright and glorious light of en- 
tire sanctification. 

THE SHEPHERD AND THE SHEEP. 

John 10. ^Truly, truly, I say unto you, he that 
Cometh not in at the door of the fold of the sheep, but 
climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a 
robber ; he that cometh in through the door is the shep- 
herd of the sheep. To him the porter openeth and he 
calls his own sheep by name and leadeth them out. When 
he may take out all his own, he goeth before them, the 
sheep follow him because they know his voice ; they will 
not follow a stranger, but they will fly from him, because 
they know not the voice of the strangers. Jesus spoke 
this parable unto them; and they did not know what 
were those things He was speaking to them. Then Je- 
suts said "Truly, truly, I say unto yon I am the door of 
the sheep. All, so many as come, are thieves and rob- 
bers, but the sheep do not hear them. I am the door ; 
if anyone may come in through me he will be saved, he 
will come in and go out and find pasture/' 



192 Life of Jesus and His Apostles, 

I used to hear the false theology, prominently 
preached from the pulpit, setting forth immersion in 
water, as the door into the Kingdom. You see here that 
Jesus Himself is the door, and the Holy Ghost is the 
porter, i. e., the door keeper. Hence, if you ever get in- 
to the Savior^s fold, you must say ^^Yes^^ to the Holy 
Ghost, follow his leadership. He will lead you to the 
Good Shepherd, who is the door into the heavenly 
kingdom, where pardon, peace and holiness await you. 
You see here that all who are not led by the Holy Ghost 
to Christ, and through Him pass into the fold, are 
thieves and robbers. Jesus is the only way, and the 
Holy Ghosit is His only revelation. You observe here 
that the Good Shepherd does not drive His sheep, but He 
leads them. 

Of this I was constantly reminded, while traveling in 
the Holy Land. I saw the shepherds everywhere lead- 
ing their flocks, and the sheep following them like dogs. 
It is wonderful how the customs, habits and events of 
that country corroborate the word of the Lord. As 
they have no fences, aU stock are herded, the shepherd 
remaining with them day and night ; e. g., if a man has 
lost some of his flock and goes to his neighbor hunting 
them the latter speaks to his flock. All his sheep hear 
his voice, hold up their heads and listen to what he 
says ; meanwhile if the strays are in the flock, they graze 
on, giving no attention. Then the other shepherd speaks 
to them, and if those that did not hear the owner of the 
flock, lift up their heads and give attention to him, the 
former turns them over to the latter and he takes them 
away, rejoicing because he has found his strays. If the ^ 
Lord is our Shepherd, and we His sheep. He- has a right 



Jesus Preaches in Jerusalem. 193 

to shear us^ when he will and use the fleece for His own 
benefit He also has a right to make mutton of His own 
sheep at His discretion. Eeader^ it means much to be 
the Lord^s sheep^ ready at all times for the shears or the 
sacrifice, to spend and be spent for the Good Shepherd 
at His omniscient and infallible discretion. V. 10. 
^The thief cometh that he may steal, may kill and 
destroy; I come that ye "may have life and may have 
it more abundantly .^^ We receive life in regeneration 
^nd the more abundant life in sanctifieation. V. 11. 
^^I am the good Shepherd.^^ ^The good shepherd lays 
down his &oul for the sheep.^^ The human soul of Christ 
made the sacrifice for a lost and ruined world, offering 
up^ his body, the bleeding Lamb of Calvary, on the al- 
tar of the divinity.' V. 12. ^^The hireling indeed not 
being the shepherd! who owns the sheep, seeth the 
wolf coming, leaveth the sheep and fleeth, and the wolf 
seizeth them and scattereth them ; because he is an hire- 
ling and there is no care to him for the sheep.^^ 

W%ile these deliverances of our Savior clearly sweep 
■^rom the field all unsaved carnal preachers, who 
prosecute their ministry actuated by selfish motives, as 
they would any other secular pursuit, involving them in 
the charge of theft, murder and destruction, which is to 
be understood in a spiritual sense ; e. g., such preachers 
steal away all the heavenly hopes of their auditors, at 
the same time murdering them soul and body, and de- 
stroying them world without end. There is also a still 
deeper signification of these terrible denunciations of 
the hireling shepherd; i. e., they certainly disqualify all 
true preachers of the gospel to encourage, or even recog- 
nize a salary for their labors. The true preacher like 



194 Ldfe of Jesus and His Apostles. 

Paul^ says^ "I want not yours^ but j^ou/' He willingly 
and gladly, like his great Antitype, wears out his life 
and lays it down for the sheep. V. 14. ^^I am- the Grood 
Shepherd. I know mine and mine know me, as the 
Father knows me and I know the Father, and I lay 
down my soul for the sheep.^^ We live in the midst of 
universal commotion. The holiness move^ment is 
girdling the globe and everywhere throwing the ecclesi- 
astical elements into wild commotion, exposing and 
revealing the counterfeit shepherds, producing a clamor-' 
cas bleating among the sheep, no longer content with 
the counterfeit hireling shepherds. Oh, what a univer- 
sal stir and excitement among the Lord^s sheep, as the 
voice of the true shepherd reverberates from every sT^y 
bringing cavil and confusion into the ranks of the world- 
ly ecclesiasticisms ; as the Lord's true sheep are every- 
where receiving light and diagnosing the counterfeit 
shepherds who have deluded them, permitting the wolf 
to invade and play sad havoc. John tells us here that 
this sermon of our Lord produced a great excitement, 
resulting in a division among the Jews ; many of them 
certifying, ^^He hath a demon and is gone m^ad V^ Vhile 
others respond, ^^These are not the words of a demonized 
man; whether is a demon able to open the eyes of the 
blind ?'^ The regular 'allegations m-ade against Jesus, 
were "He hath a demon, He is beside himself. He is 
gone mad.^^ If you would be His follower, look out for 
the cognomens, which they applied to Him. The world 
has not changed; neither is it more tolerant of purity 
■and holiness now than in the days of Christ. When the 
gospel ceases to arouse the animosity of hypocrites and 
carn^al professors, the dyniamite has all evanesced: life 



Jesus Preaches in Jerusalem. 195 

is gone and it is a loathsome corpse. Vs. 20-23. "It 
was the feast of dedication in Jerusalem, it was winter ; 
and Jesus was walking in the Temple, in the porch of 
Solomon.^^ I .us^d to think Solomon^s porch was a pro- 
jection from the Temple edifice. This is a mistake. It 
was a separate building,about six hundredyards from the 
Temple, near the beautiful gate which enters through 
the east wall of the city and the campus. It is there 
today, though somewhat in ruin. This feast of the 
dedication is said to have been about Dec. 25, commem- 
orative of the dedication of the Temple,after the Syrians 
under Antiochus had occupied it three years and polluted 
it with the worship of idols; the Jews, after long and 
bloody wars, gallantly led by the heroic Maccabees, hav- 
ing signally triumphed over them and regained their in- 
dependence. V. 26. "But you do not believe, because 
you are not of my sheep. My sheep hear my voice and 
I know them, and they follow me, and I give unto them 
eternal life and they shall never perish, and no one shall 
pluck them out of my hand. The Father who gave them 
to me is greater than all, and no one is able to pluck 
them out of my hand.^^ The preaching of our Savior, 
in this memorable sermon on the shepherd and sheep, is 
moieh appreciated by Christians adhering to the Calvan- 
istic theology. While it would seem to a superficial 
reader to establish indubitably the final perseverance 
of the saints yet there is not in it so much as an insinu- 
ation against the absolute and untrammeled free agency 
of all men. The vast audience listening to Jesus were all 
church members, yet he affirms ^they are not of hissheep,^ 
involving, at least, an awful suspicion that we live amid 
the repetition of similar events and environments deter- 



196 Life of Jesus and His Apostles 

minative of human destiny. Neither the preachers nor 
the people hearing the Savior at that time were His 
sheep. They were counterfeits and reprobates, hastening 
to an awful doom in the destruction of Jerusalem, 
which was but a prelude of eternal retribution. When 
Jesus, looking them in the face, delivered these awful 
truths, which excluded them from the kingdom of grace 
and glory, they became so enraged that they again pro- 
ceeded to stone Him, h'aving the double charge of Sab- 
bath breaking and blasphemy arrayed against Him, 
whose punishment in the law of Moses, was death by 
stoning. They decided that His claim to be the Son of 
God was blasphemy; while His innumerable works of 
mercy on. the Sabbath involved Him in the crime of its 
desecration. Feeling amply sustained by the law in the 
infliction of capital punishment; they were determined 
to make short work of the trouble, which had been an 
eating cancer on the 'body ecclesiastic, more than two 
and a half years. As His time to preach the gospel and 
corroborate it by His miracles had not yet expired. He 
departed out of Jerusalem, traveling away to the north- 
east, crossing the Jordan and stopping in Bethany Per- 
ea, where John had spent some time preaching and 
baptizing. Thither the people rallied to Him, m-any be- 
lieving on Him. 

The moment we follow Him out of Jerusalem, 
we see a great difference in the appreciation 
of the people, arising, obviously, from the awful, 
sinister influence of the higher clergy, in Jerusalem, 
who had crystalized against Him, settling down in a 
unanimous determination to kill Him. 



Jesus Preaches in Jerusalem, 197 

* THE RESURRECTION^ OF LAZARUS. 

Jolm, 11. In 'an humble cottage at Bethany, a lovely 
suburban village on the south-east slopes of Mt. Olivet, 
iifteen furlongs from Jerusalem, there lived an amiable 
family of humble, godly people. Contemporary history 
certifies that they were related to Jesus by the ties of 
consanguinity. Certain it is that they were mutually de- 
lighted with His frequent visits. The orphan children, 
Mary, Martha and Lazarus, constituted the family, sup- 
ported by the latter,in the laborious work of transcribing 
the Old Testament scriptures ; as that was the only way 
the Word of the Lord, at that time, could be multiplied. 
A nhort time after the departure of Jesus, Lazarus was 
taken sick, as historj^ says, of fever, such as they call 
typhoid in this country,but in that, well known this day, 
as the Syrian fever. As he grew worse and worse, the dis- 
ease defying all remedies and challenging the skill of the 
physicians, till he burned as in a furnace, the loving sis- 
ters, terribly alarmed, eventually concluded there was no 
hope but to bring Jesus thither that He might heal him. 
This they much regretted to do, as they knew, to their 
sorrow, that the people instigated by the priests, were in 
the act of stoning Him, a few days previously. But ren- 
dering Himself invisible,passing out of their hands. He 
had left the city and gone far away to Bethany Perea, to 
save His life from the infuriated mob. Therefore, they 
hesitated still, hoping to see a change for the better. In 
this they were disappointed, the change by night and 
day 'being only for the worse; till, in utter desperation 



198 Life of Jesus and His Apostles. 

of all medical aid^they called a messenger and dispatched 
him with all possible expedition to call Jesus; saying 
to Him ^'^Behold^ he whom thou lovest^ is sick/^ V. 4. Je- 
STLS^hearing, said, this sickness is not unto death, but for 
the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified 
through it/' Meanwhile, the fever is so awfully malig- 
nant that Lazarus actually dies some time before the 
messenger reaches Jesus. After receiving the news of 
his sickness, Jesus remains two days, when he announces 
to His disciples, V. 11, ^^Our friend, Lazarus, has gone . 
to sleep; but I go that I m'ay awaken him/' The disci- 
ples thinking that He means physical sleep, receive it as 
encouraging news, ominous of his convalescence; when 
Jesus corrects their mistake, notifying them positively 
that he is dead, and expressing His determination to go 
to him, when the disciples remind Him of the danger 
from which. He had so recently fled; and, V. 16 ; Thomas 
said to his comrades,^^Let us go,that we may also die witli 
Him;'' inferential of the fact that they were about to 
kill Him a few days ago when He was there, and if He 
went back, they would certainly stone Him to death. 
Thomas was the doubter till the fires of Pentecost burnt 
his doubts up. Consequently he always took the hlue side 
of everything, antithetical to Peter^ who always took the 
bright side. Consequently Thomas says^ ^^Let us go along 
and dies with Him" ; i. e., they will kill Jesus and us too, 
if we go; but let us go, be true to Him, and die with 
Him. By the time they arrive at Bethany, Lazarus has 
been dead four days. (I entered his tomb during both 
my tours in that country). Of course putrefaction 
in that hot climate progresses very rapidly. Meanwhile 
the Jewish mourners, pursuant to their custom to 



Jesus Preaches in Jerusalem. 199 

mourn for the dead seven days^ are surprised to find the 
sisters and especially Mary, looking for Jesus, and even 
enthused with the hope that He will raise their brother 
from the dead. As the sun peers above Mt. Pisgah and 
wraps great Mt Olivet in the splendor of his oriental 
beauty suddenly a man comes running to the house of 
mourning, notifying them that Jesus has arrived and is 
now with His disoiples, halting a moment at Jeremiah^s 
fountain in the suburbs and drinking some water and 
washing the sands from their feet. Martha instan- 
taneously met Him, 'falling at His feet saying: 
^^If thou feadst 'been here my brother had not 
died and I know that whatsoever you ask God, G-od will 
give to you.^^ 

Jesus says to her; ^^Thy brother shall rise again.^^ 
Martha says to Him; "I know he shall rise again 
in the resurrection in the last day. For Jesus says, 
I am the resurrection and the life; and he that be- 
lieveth on me though he may die,shall live; and everyone 
living and believing on me can never diie,^^ V. 20-26. 
Now when Jesus astounds Martha with these wonderful 
declarations and sends her to call her sister, who 
through courtesy to the mourners, had remained in the 
hous'e, instantaneously she leaps; meets Jesus still 
lingering on the spot where Martha met Him, 
and falling at His feet, ejaculating, ^^Lord, if 
thou hadst been here my brother had not died.'^ 
The words Jesus had spoken to Martha had already 
thrilled the heart of Mary with burning enthusiasm, till 
standing upright before Him ^he pulled ffim by the 
sleeve of his robe in the direction of the sepulchre. 

Since the arrival of Jesus in one short hour, the news 



200 Life of Jesus and His Apostles. 

had flowiL' on the wings of the wind, till all Bethany was 
astir and the people trooping down the slopes of Mt. 
Olivet and up from the ravines and valleys and pouring 
in from the hills, till a swelling multitude who had run 
themselves out of breath, once more gazed upon the face 
of the wonderful Galilean Prophet, who raised the wid- 
ow's son at N"ain, and spoke the daughter of Jairus into 
life, wondering and conjecturing what was going to hap- 
pen. Even a caravan on its way from Idumea to Egypt 
was arrested by the commotion ajid halted to see the end. 
V. 34. He groaned in spirit and troubled himself and 
said, ^^Where have you placed him?'' They say to him, 
^^Lord^come and see.'' Jesusi wept. Here we see a most 
vidid contrast between tiio humanity and the divinity ^the 
former wdth heart-broken tendernesis, giving way to 
gushing tears ; while the latter rising in the majesty of 
omnipotenco, proceeds to raise him from the dead. 
While they are journieying i^ the tomb, which is a cav- 
ernous ex^cavatiion in the base of Mt. Olivet, Martha 
observes, "Lord, already he smelleth." Having advanced 
within a few paces', Jesus halted the procession and gave 
praise to His father for the omnipotent intervention ; al- 
leging as a reason, ^in order that the people may believe 
that thou ha^t sent me.' Now Heordersthe strong men to 
take away the stone from the door of the sepulchre. No 
sooner is it moved than an awful gust, of putre- 
scent odor pours out, so impregnating the air as to cause 
the multitude to retreat a number of paces; mean- 
while the daylight superseding the darkness in the sep- 
ulchre reveals the body, lying on the stone slab, the 
grave clothes darkened by the putrefaction, V. 43. Now 
J esu3 speaks with a voice that shakes great Mt. Olivet, 



Jesus Preaches in Jerusalem. 201 

^^Lazarus, come forth V The dead man came out bound 
as to his feet and his hands^ with grave clothes, and his 
face was wrapped about with a napkin. Jesus says to 
them ; ^^Loose him^ and let him go V^ Responsive to the 
stentorian call of Jesus^the soul of Lararus, leaving his 
happy retreat in Abraham^s bosom, comes back, re-en- 
ters his body and animates it once more. Meanwhile the 
people see the corpse rise, and walk out of the tomb, 
causing a great panic and unutterable affright. Then 
Jesais says,^Tx)Ose him and lethim go V^ speaking to those 
strong men, who had rolled away the stone. But what 
can they do, panic stricken and prostrate on the ground 
with dismay affright? History says Mary was the first 
one to proceed to un-pin and remove the napkin from 
his face, Martha falling in and helping her. ISTow when 
the multitude saw that be was actually alive and no mis- 
take about it, recovering from their panic, they raised a 
tremendous shout which was heard in Jerusalem, fifteen 
furlongs distant: ^^Glory to the God of Israel, who has 
raised up a prophet in our midst, who has power to 
speak the dead ino life again V^ 

Meanwhile 'So many believed Him and fell on the 
ground in -adoring worship on all sides that the way was 
actually blockaded. The effect of this miracle was over- 
whelming and tremendous. Elijah and Elisha had 
raised the dead; but never had a case been known in 
which the person had been dead so long as Lararus was. 
While hosts believed on Jesus under the influence of this 
stupendous miracle, others went away and told the 
Pharisees. 

We have in this mighty work of Jesus, a vivid, lucid 
and powerful symbolism of the redemptive scheme; the 



202 Life cf Jesus and Ills Apostles. 

resurrection of the diead Lazarus typifying regeneration, 
•which is the resurrection of a human spirit from the 
dead ; while the removal of the grave clothes, beautifully 
and forcibly emblemizes sanctification, which is the inher- 
ent principle of full spiritual liberty, free from all the 
fetters, chains and bandages, bound on the soul by in- 
bred sin. 

Such was the result of the terrible oommotioni amon:.^ 
the high priests and Pharisees, that they at once conven- 
ed the Sanhedrim and there delivered flaming speeches. 
V. 47. ^^What shall we do because this man is doing 
many miracles? If we thus let him alone all will be* 
lieve on him, and the Eomans will come and take away 
our place and nation.-'^ This actually did transpire. 
The Romans did come and destroyed their city and na- 
tion. Amid the excited speeches in the Sanhedrim, the 
spirit of prophecy came -on C'aiaphas, the high priest^ so 
that he boldly predicted ; V. 49, ^You Imow not anything, 
neither do you consider that it behooves you that one 
man may die for the people and not that the whole na- 
tion shall perish.^^ That was a true prophecy, literally 
fulfilled in the expiatory death of Jesus, an illustrative 
case of the significant fact that the gifts of the Holy 
Ghost are not confined to the sanctified, nor even to the 
regenerated. The case is very clear that Caiaphas, the 
chief priest, was actually demoniacally possessed^ led 
by the devil and doing his work. Yet we see that God 
put His hand on him and used him to utter a true 
prophecy. The final vprddct of the Sanhedrim on this 
occasion was that they would kill Jesus as quickly as 
possible. Therefore, Jesus again left the country^ ac- 
companied by His disciples, of whom Lazarus was one; 



Jesus Preaches in Jerusalem. 203 

going out north into the city Ephraim, where He spent 
a short time with His disciples; then journeying on 
north-east, crossing over Jordan into Berea, the cc^ntry 
originally given to the two and one-half tribes^ Eeuben, 
Gad and Manasseh, where He sojourned a dozen days, 
preaching the gospel of the kingdom to the vast multi- 
tudes who crowded en His track, hanging spellbound on 
His eloquent lips, thrilled and elated not only by His 
wonderful preaching, but His stupendous miracles. 



CHAPTER IX. 



JESUS PREACHES IN PEREA. 



Luke 13 :10-21. "Jesus was preaching in one of the 
synagogues on the Sabbath. Behold a woman having a 
spirit of infirmity eighteen years, who was bent over 
and was not able entirely to straighten up. Jesus see- 
ing her called to her and said, "Woman^thou art released 
from thy infirmity f and He put His hands on her, and 
immediately she straightened up and continued to glo- 
rify God. But the chief ruler of the synagogue, being 
grieved because Jesus healed on the Sabbath, -said to the 
multitude, "There are six days in which it behooveth us 
to work ; therefore coming in these, he healed, but not on 
the Sabbath day. But the Lord responded to him and 
said ; "Ye hypocrites,doth not one of you loose your ox or 
donkey from the stall, and leading him away give 
him water on the Sabbath? But this woman being a 
daughter of Abrahanl whom Satan bound, lo, these eigh- 
teen years, did it not behoove that she should be loosed 
from this bondage on the Sabbath day?^^ He speaking 
these things, all those opposing Him were overwhelmed 
with shame, and the whole multitude continued to re- 
joice over all the glorious things which were done by 
him. 

The prominent characteristic of dead religions in all 
ages has been to get exceedingly particular, and even 
tyrannical, proscriptive and condemnatory about non- 
essentials. Hence, you see they hounded Jesus night 

204 



Jesus Preaches in Perea. 205 

and day with the charge of Sabbath breaking because 
He performed his miracles on that day as well as oth- 
ers. We live in an age of compromise. Jesus did not 
miake any. By so doing He might huve saved His life. 
He stuck to truth and. duty, refusing to flicker an iota. 
The result was He lost His life. So if we are true, in- 
flexible, and make no compromise, we are bound to 
lose our carnal lives; whereas, deflexion from the 
straight line of truth and duty would certainly forfeit 
spiritual life. 

THE NARROW WAY. 

V. 23. ^^And one said to Him,Lord,are the saved few? 
And He said to them, ^^Strive to enter in through tha 
narrow gate, because many, I say imto you, will seek to 
enter in and. will not be able.^^ Here we see the reason 
why so few people are saved. It is not because they do 
not desire salvation and even seek after it. The desire 
to be saved and some sort of an effort in that direction 
are peculiar to immortal intelligences in every age and 
nation. Here the Savior tells the secret why the saved 
are few; it is "because the way is so narrow and the peo- 
ple do not agonize to enter the way and walk in it. 
Agonize is really a Greek word agoonizesthe, slightly 
anglicized and adopted into the English language. It 
is a very strong word : agona, the arena in the Coliseum 
in Eome where the gladiators fought for life, the con- 
flict always ending in the death of one or both of the com- 
batants. You know the gladiator fought with all the 
conceivable power of body, mind and spirit. The reason 
why so few are saved is not that grace is not free for 
all, and God is willing and anxious to save all, but so 



206 Life of Jesus and His Apostles. 

few seek with all the heart. '^^In the day in which thou 
seek'e^ me in thy whole hearty I will be found of thee.'' 
The heart is your immortal self^ which occupies the 
whole body. V. 28. "And there shall be weeping and 
gnashing of teeth when ye shall see Abraham^ Isaac 
and Jacob and all the prophets in the Kingdom of God 
and ye are cast out. "They shall come from the east, the 
west, the north and the south, -and shall eit down in the 
Kingdom of God. Behold the last shall be first, and 
the first shall be last.^' 

This mournful affirmation of Jesus not only applied 
to the Jews, who rejected Him and were cast out, while 
millions of Gentiles came from^ the ends of the earth, 
and took their places in lihe kingdom along with Abra- 
ham, Isaac and Jacob; but also equally and pertinently 
does it apply to the unspiritual worldly churches of the 
present day, whose children are rushing by millions 
through the deviFs frolics down to hell. Likewise many 
in heathen lands responsive to the trumpet calls of the 
missionary, are pouring into the kingdom of God and 
taking their places with the patriarchs and prophets. The 
Jews, who were first to receive the kingdom, but cast out 
for rejecting it, will be the last harvest gathered by 
the gospel reapers. Tlie universal stir among the chil- 
dren of Abraham at this day, and their rapid gathering 
into the holy land are thrillingly ominous of the Lord's 
near approach. 

AN ATTEMPT TO SCARE JESUS OUT OF PEREA. 

V: 31-34. The Pharisees now come to Him and tell 
Him that Herod is going to kill Him. To an ordinary 



Jesus Preacher in Perea, 207 

man this would have been very alarming^ especially as 
Herod had so recently killed John the Baptist. The 
case is very clear that it was a stratagem on the part of 
the Pharisees to get rid of Him. When He was on 
trial in Jerusalem^ only a few days after this^ Herod had 
a chance to kill Him^ if he had been so disposed. Hq 
was exceedingly unwilling to kill John the Baptist, but 
felt constrained by state policy, to do so, in order that he 
might sustain his honor among his magnates. The ioK 
is notorious for cunning, dishonesty and theft. Hence, 
the pertinency on the part of Jesus in calling Herod a 
fox, V. 32. This threat brings to His mind the awful 
tragedy, rascality, blood and death, destined so soon to 
take place at Jerusalem. Hence His mournful wail, Y. 
35, ^^Behold your house is left unto you desolate.^^ This 
prophecy is signally verified in the awful Jewish trib- 
ulations, A. D. 66-73; seven awful years of desolation, 
blood, death and captivity, winding up not only with the 
devastation of the land, but the annihilation of the Jew- 
ish polity. Jesus now accepts an invitation to dine with 
one of the rulers of the Pharisees on the Sabbath. A poor 
victim of dropsy is present. Critical eyes are turned on 
Him to see whether He will heal him on the Sabbath. 
True to the work of love, for which He came into the 
world. He takes the poor sufferer and heals him, despite 
the clamor of His critics, responding. Which one of 
you shall have an ass or an ox fall into a pit and will not 
immediately lift him out on the Sabbath day ?'^ 

HE CONDEMNS AMBITION. 

Ch. 14, -V. 17. Warning them against the temptation 



208 Life of Jesus and His Apostles, 

to take the most prominent seat, when invited to a fes- 
tival ; assuring them "^^^that every one that exalteth him- 
self shall be abased and every one that hiimbleth himself 
sh<all be exalted/^ 

How this deliverance of the Infallible should stand 
as a break-water against ministerial ambition, so obvi- 
ously destructive of usefulness and grievous to the Holy 
Spirit at the present day ! many a preacher maneuvering 
to secure the most prominent place. Here He warns 
the man who invited Him, saying, V. 12, When thou 
makest a dinner or supper, do not call your rich friends, 
brothers, relatives or neighbors, lest they may invite thee 
in turn, and there may be a recompense to thee. But 
when thou makest a feast, invite the poor, maimed, 
halt, blind and thou shalt be happy because they have 
nothing to give thee in turn; and it shall be recom- 
pensed to thee in the resurrection of the just/^ Oh, how 
few obey this commandment of the Savior ! On the con- 
trary, perhaps ninety-nine hundTedths who claim to be 
His followers, openly antagonize this commandment, by 
inviting the rich and neglecting the poor; thus secur- 
ing their reward in this world, i. e., a reciprocation of 
the invitation; and forfeiting the great, everlasting re- 
ward: i. e., the Lord^s recompense in the resurrection 
of the just. 

THE MARRIAGE SUPPER. 

15-24. "Andi a certain man made a great 
supper, and invited many: and ©ent his ser- 
vant at the hour of supper to say to those who had 
been invited, Tome, because all things are now ready. 



Jesus Preaches in Perea. 209 

and they all began of one accord to make excuse. Tlie first 
said to him, I have bought a field, and I must needs 
go out to see it ; I entreat thee have me excused. 
Another said, I have bought five yoke of oxen and I 
go to prove them ; I entreat thee have me excused. And 
another said, I have married a wife and on this account 
I am not able to come. And the 'servant coming to his 
lord announced these things. Then the landlord being 
angry^said to his servant, ^Go out quickly into the streets 
and lanes of the city, and lead hither the poor, the 
maimed, the blind and the halt. And the servant said ; 
Lord,it is done as you commanded and yet there is room.' 
And the lord said to the servant, 'Go out into the high- 
ways and the hedges and compel them to come in, that 
my house may be filled. For I say unto you that none of 
those men who have been invited shall taste of my sup- 
per.^ ^^ 

Heaven is described as a place of perpetual festivity 
and felicity ; i. e., ever and anon through the Bible, un- 
der the similitude of a sumptuous wedding festival, 
filled and thrilled with mingled joy and ineffable bliss. 
Every participant of redeeming grace from Abel down, 
has received! a prelibation of this heavenly festival in 
his heart. When Jesus came on the earth the first 
time. He brought with Him the kingdom of grace ; i. e., 
righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Ghost (Kom. 
14:7.) When He comes the second time. He will take 
up His saints to the glorious wedding feast in Heaven, 
where the final solemnization of the glorious nuptials of 
the triumphant Christ and His transfigured bride will 
climax the redemptive scheme with glory and honor, 
eliciting the admiration of angels and archangels, filling 



210 Life of Jesus and His Apostles. 

heaven and the universe with their congratulatory an- 
thems and the enrapturing melodies of their golden 
harps. Thus the two advents of Christ into the world 
constitute the grand, salient culminations of the glorious 
w^edlock, identifying the redeemed eternally with the 
Lord. The old prophets rang out this glorious invita- 
tion from the day of Abel and Enoch, down to the com- 
ing of John the Baptist, who was the servant the Lord 
sent to notify the invited ones that all things were ready, 
and exhort them to come to the feast without delay. 
These three excuses sound to us silly and foolish in the 
extreme, yet they are as good as any sinners on the globe 
today can present, though they lay all their wits under 
contribution to get them up. When all the prominent 
classes had refused, then the messenger was sent into the 
streets and lanes; i. e., to the poor people of Jerusalem, 
and throughout all Israel, inviting them to come without 
delay. Finally the report was brought back. ^^Plenty of 
room at the table yet unoccupied.^^ Then the messen- 
gers are sent to the highways and hedges, i. e., into the 
whole Gentile world, with orders to compel them to come 
in; i. e., do everj^thing in your power to get people 
saved. They are dying on all sides, and sinking into hell 
by millions. Hence it is a time of crying emergency, 
appalling necessity, a crucial ordeal for dear life — any- 
thing in the world to arrest the awful tide of damnation 
and keep people out of hell, is lawful, right and Scrip- 
tural. Those poor Jews who rejected Christ were doom- 
ed, and perished in the destruction of Jerusalem, despite 
all their wealth, pride, pomp, pageantry and learning. 
Those very high priests and Pharisees perished miserably 
and sank into perdition. 



Jesus Preaches in Perea. 211 

TERMS OF DISCIPLESHIP. 

V. 25. Many multitudes were going along with Him^ 
and turnings He said to them, "If anyone comes to me 
and does not hate his father, mother, wife, children, 
brothers, sisters, and yet even his own soul, he is not able 
to be my disciple/^ Hate here means love in a subordi- 
nate degree. Love andhate are antithetical. Yet love may 
be so great that, when contrasted with love on an infinite- 
ly lower plane, the latter actually becomes antithetical 
to the former, receiving the contrastive signification of 
hatred ; e. g., gold might become so plentiful that silver 
would forfeit its value. Our love for Christ is to be su- 
preme in the superlative degree, throwing into eclipse all 
other loves, so they lose their significance and contrast- 
edly with our love for Him, actually become hatred. 
It is a Hebrew expression, better understood in the 
strong language of the Orientals thaui in the comparative- 
ly weak phraseology of the Occidentals. 

V. 28. "For, which one of you, wishing to build, does 
not first sit down, and count the cost, whether he has 
sufiicient to complete it, lest he, laying the foundation 
and being unable, all seeing, may mock him, saying, 
"This man began to 'buildj and was unable to complete 
it.^^^ The word translated "eomplete^^ here is the strong- 
est in the vocabulary and currently used in the Scripture 
for Christian perfection. The foundation is laid in 
regeneration (1 Cor. 3:10), and the superstructure of 
holiness is built in sanctiflcation ; hence these plain 
words of the Savior enforce the conclusion that it col- 
lapses and proves a failure, if we do not go on and receive 
the experience of perfection. This parable corroborates 



aVJ} Life of Jesus and His Apostles, 

the preceding one^ exhibiting perfect love, and' this one 
a findshed Christian character. "What king going to en- 
ter into war with another king will mot first, sitting 
down, counsel if he is able, with ten thousfand coming 
against him, to meet twenty thousand ; or if not, he being 
yet a great way off, sending an enibassy, he seeks for 
those things appertaining to peace/^ This parable beau- 
tifully emblematizes the sinner (and we are all sinners ; 
converted people are pardoned sinners; sanctified people 
are purified sinners; through all eternity we will never 
be anything but sinners saved by grace, not angels, who 
never needed salvation) ; who is far from God, yet des- 
tined to m>eet him very soon. So in the contrast, 
God is the adversary marching to meet him with twenty 
thousand soldiers, hence the highest behest of wisdom 
cries out, make haste, send a pacific embassador to the 
outraged King with all possible expedition, to negotiate 
for peace and speed a reconciliation. 

V. 33. "Thus, therefore, no one of you who does not 
consecrate all his possessions, is able to be my disci- 
ple.^^ This presentation of the kingdom in three dis- 
tinct and forcible paxablos sihows most conclusively the 
absolute necessity of entire consecration and complete 
sanctifieation in every case. He winds it up by an allu- 
sion to the savorless salt which, is fit for nothing but to 
make walks. When religion has lost the Holy Ghost, it 
is utterly savorless; i. e., incompetent to ^ave a soul, and 
utilized only by the devil, who much appreciates it as 
material to make walks for the convenience of the poor, 
deluded, counterfeit professors, who so highly prize an 
easy and comfortable walk down to hell. Jesus is 
preaching day after day to the vast multitudes who ac- 



Jesus Preaches in Perea. 213 

companied Him in His peregrinations, walking along, 
prosecuting His memorable walk through. Perea with 
His face towards Jerusalem, ever and anon halting and 
preaching to the spell-bound, myriads. 

THE LOST SHEEP. 

Ch." 15 :4:-7. ^^Whatman of you havinga hundred sheep 
and losing one of them, does not leave the ninety and 
nine in the wilderness and go after the lost one until 
he m-ay find it? And having found it, he puts it on his 
shoulder rejoicing, and having come to the house calls 
together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, Ee- 
joice with me, because I have found my sheep whieh was 
lost. I say unto you that in a similar manner there will be 
more rejoicing in Heaven over one sinner that repenteth, 
rather than ninety and nine just people w^ho need no 
xepentance.^^ This parabolic gem applies to every sinner 
on the globe, who, by the wonderful grace of Christ, was 
horn into the kingdom, and got out only when he sinned 
out. Every sheep was born in the fold and strayed away 
in some inopportune hour after weaning. Oh, what an 
inspiration our Lord here gives to all His people, to 
stir them up, to do their utmost to rescue sinners stray- 
ing away from Grod and perishing eternally on all sides. 
This parable, however, has a signification deep, broad, 
grand and sweeping, eclipsing the loftiest heights of 
erudition, winged with the pinions of imagination. As 
a rule, the oriental shepherd is in charge of one hun- 
dred sheep. One hundred is not to be regarded as defi- 
nite, but simply a representative round number, beauti- 
fully exhibitory of the magnificent retinue of worlds, 



214 Life* of Jesus and His Apostles. 

which dropped from the fingers of the Almighty on 
creation^s morn and took their respective places in the 
vast ethereal plain of the celestial elliptic. Satan, six 
thousand years ago, maneuvered to side-track this world 
and run it away off into the obscure darkness, in view 
of adding it to hell in order to enlarge the regions of the 
damned. Meanwhile the Son of God looked from the 
celestial pinnacles, saw our irretrievable woe, laid aside 
the diadem of His triune glory and came to our relief; 
nobly espousing the lost cause, thus undertaking to re- 
cover this world from the calamities of the F'all, restore 
it to its place in the plain of the elliptic, there 
with its unfallen comrades, to wheel around the cycles of 
celestial splendor and glory, ever accumulating new 
beauty and splendor, while the centuries of eternity 
move on. 

Thus the Prince of Glory has been working 
on the noble enterprise of recovering this lost sheep. 
Six thousand years have rolled away. Grand proficiency 
has been made, victories brightening with the tread of 
centuries, till the culmination of Calvary thrilled heav- 
en with triumph and appalled hell with groans. Em- 
manuers armies are marching. Victories are brighten^ 
ing beneath every sky. The Lord is coming back in His 
glory to dethrone Satan and take him out of the worlds 
girdle the globe with salvation and holiness to the Lord, 
bringing on a heavenly harvest of a thousand years, fol- 
lowed by the sanctification of the earth with celestial 
fire, its final renovation, its investiture with heavenly 
similitude and restoration to its pristine orbit in the ce- 
lestial elliptic, with the stentorian shouts ringing from 
the lips of the God-Man, "Rejoice with me, for T have 



Jesus Preaches in Perea. 21b 

found my sheep which was lost V^ Oh, what a shout will 
then roar out from the other ninety and nine worlds 
that went not astray ! 

THE LOST MONEY. 

• 

y :8, 10. '^'Or what woman having ten drachmas, if 
she should lose one drachma, does she not light a candle 
and sweep the house and search diligently till she may 
find it ? Having found it, she calls together her friends 
and neighbors, saying "Eejoice with me, because I found 
the drachma which I lost. Thus I say to you, there is 
joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sin- 
ner that repents.^^ The drachma was an attic coin worth 
about nine and a half cents. Ten si, a number prominent 
in the Bible representing perfection. This drachma 
really emblematizes the human soul, while the woman is 
the church and the broom the Word of God. The lost 
money had not at all depreciated in value, yet in its 
condition it was utterly worthless. Thus the soul of 
the sinner is of infinite value, having cost the life of 
Jesus; yet, in sin, it has no possible availability, and 
would better never have existed. While the woman here, 
is the church,you know a dead woman never sweeps her 
house. If she is full of life, intelligence and activity, 
she will ransack and clean out every old closet, and 
(never desist till she finds the lost money. Hence you 
see that a church without the Holy Ghost will never 
hunt up the lost souls. She has neither the light, skill, 
activity, nor the enterprise requisite in the emergency. 



216 Life of Jesus and His Apostles. 

THE PRODIGAL SON. 

V: 11-32. This has been, by theologians, denominated 
the pearl of parables. The father emblematizes the Al- 
mighty, while the two sons represent the whole human 
race, born in the Father^s house; i. e., the Kingdom of 
Grace, illustrating the consolatory fact, that the T^onder- 
ful grace of Christ has so prevailed and defeated the 
powers of darkness, that every human being is born in 
the Kingdom, enjoying infantile justification, till the 
birth-right is forfeited by personal transgression. In this 
case the elder brother, who, under patriarchal law, was 
entitled to a double portion of the father's estate, for- 
tunately for himself, stayed at home, labored dili- 
gently, augmenting his patrimony and comforting the 
hearts of father and mother (the church), confirmatory 
of the gracious possibility on the part of every son and 
daughter of Adam's ruined race, to abide in their infan- 
tile justification, brightened by an early conversion and 
established by a timely sanctifioation, ^the mighty break- 
waters w^hich redeeming grace builds up to fortify the 
sons and daughters of men against all the bulwarks of 
Satan and the miasmatic pestilences of hell.^ Unfor- 
tunately the younger brother strayed away, wandered in 
the enemy's land till he spent all ; i. e., utterly backslid 
from his infantile justification, the temptations of the 
world, the flesh and the devil coming in like a flood, till 
gaunt famine stalks abroad and looks him in the face; 
1. e., Satan throws his lasso around his neck and is fast 
dragging him into hell. Meanwhile, the remembrance of 
a godly home clings to him night and day, refusing to 
let up; i. e., his convictions will not down. Therefore, 



Jesus Preaches in Perea, 217 

he goes and identifieg himself with a swine^feeder (i. e.. 
joins a carnal, anti-'holiness church, which were very 
prevalent in that country). In order to compliment 
him, they elect him deacon and honor him with the dis- 
pensation of the Temple's support. Consequently it is his 
prerogative to feed the swine, thus operating in the ca- 
pacity of the leading financial officer. 

16. ^^And he wished to fill his stomach from the 
pods which the swine were eating, and no one gave unto 
him.^' The E. V. is very erratic in this passage, as hogs 
will not eat shucks, and if they did, they would starve 
to death. The Greek kesativom, which means the pods 
produced by the carob tree, which grows in the Holy 
Land, (I remember a number of those trees on Mt. Oli- 
vet, along the road from Jerusalem to Bethany), in Sy- 
ria, Italy and the Argentine Eepublic of South America. 
The pods are about ten inches long, containing a sweet 
pulp, with a number of kernels scattered along through 
them. They are used to fatten swine, which eat them 
with great avidity and do well. Camels, also, and cattle 
eat them. The prodigal son subsisted on the same food 
which he gave the hogs, because, as it says, ^'^No one 
gave unto him'^ ; i. e., no one gave him anything else to 
eat. This sad history is now repeated in millions of 
cases, w'here children brought up in a godly home float 
away, fall under the influence of carnal people, join their 
church, content themselves to live on hog feed: (i. e., 
oarnial preaching. ) and eoijoy honors, holding offices, com- 
plimented to rule the church; so live and die, and, like 
Dives, wake up in hell. 

Fortunately, this young man did not succeed in com- 
pletely drowning his convictions; therefore, under the 



218 Life of Jesus and His Apostles, 

frequent visitation of the Holy Spirit^ one day at the 
hog-pen^ he receives another stroke from Mt. Sinai^s 
battering-ram which literally knocks him up. 

17. "And having come to himself^ he said,, How 
many hired servants of my father abound in bread; and 
here I perish wdth hunger.^^ The trouble with the mil- 
lions now in hell is^ that they come to themselves toa 
late; the angel of repentance long rejected^ having re- 
treated to return no more. The hired servants 
here are not Satan's people^ but Christians in a justified 
state^ needing sanctification to give them the spirit of 
adoption into sonship. 

Gal. 4:1-7. Xow grace prevails^ heroic resolution 
f ollow\s^ the false consolations of a carnal churchy official 
emoluments all thrown to tl>e winds^ he moves off 
speedily to his father's house. The father sees 
him a long way off (i. e.^ as far as he has ever wandered 
and sinned)^ comes to meet him^ kisses him copiously 
(i. e., justifies him freely)^ while his bitter anguish^ like 
an artesian well^, from a broken heart, confesses all his 
sins. Forthwith the father orders his investiture with 
the best robe (i. e., the blood-washed robe of holiness), 
puts the marriage ring on his hand and shoes on his 
feet; (i. e., sanctifies him wholly, -and sends him out to 
preach.) 

This is a case where the two works of grace 
came in quick succession, converted when the father em- 
braced him, conferring the kiss of peace, and sanctified 
on the reception of the robe and the ring and invested 
with the gospel shoes, confirmatory of his call to preach 
the everlasting gospel. 

Now a brief episode follows relative to the elder son, 



Jesus Preaches in Perea. 219 

whose envy and jealousy are aroused when he hears the 
extravagant rejoicing over the return of his prodigal 
brother. He thought they ought to shout over him^ who 
had been so good to stay at home and work^ obedient to 
his father and mother, and conservative of all the home 
interests. There is no intimation that he had lost his 
infantile justification, but the contrary is really affirmed. 
V : 29. "And responding, he mid to the father, Behold, 
so many years I serve thee, and never did I transgress 
thy oomm'andment, and yet thou never gavest me a 
kid, that I might rejoice along with my friends.^^ This 
confirms the conclusion that he had not lost his infantile 
justification ; however, it is obvious that he much needed 
sanctification to take all the fret and worry out of him, 
and qualify him to join the saints and angels in their 
rejoicing over his returned brother. The hypothesis that 
the Bible anywhere, either directly or indirectly, sets a 
premium on sin, is untenable. While in this case the 
younger brother had outstripped the elder on the grace 
line, having not only received restoration from his awful 
backsliding, but sanctification, yet we must recognize 
the fact that the elder brotheT at the beginning, received 
a double portion of the estate, which he has doubtless, by 
his industry and temperance, decidedly augmented, 
while his younger brother wasted his in dissipation. 

28. "But he was angry and was not willing to come 
in, and his father, having come out, continued to entreat 
him.^^ Here the history 'Stops, leaving at least, a pre- 
sumption, and, I trow, a strong probability, that he 
yielded to the protracted exhortation of his father, came 
in, got sanctified, and joined his brother in the rejoic- 
ings of the jubilant saints and ecstatic angels. 



220 Life of Jesus and His Apostles. 

THE STEWARD AND HIS LORD. 

Ch. 16:1-13. This man is generally denominated the 
unjust steward. The world, however, says that he was 
slandered to his lord as having wasted his goods ; conse- 
quently his lord calls him to account and takes his stew- 
ardship from him ; throwing him out on his own resourc- 
es. In his perplexity (verse 3), the steward said within 
himself, "What ishall I do, because my lord taketh my 
stewardship from me? I am unable to dig, I am ashamed 
to beg.'' The facts thus far corroborate the conclusion 
that 'he bad dealt honestly with hi'S lord^ accumulated by 
bis office, simply defraying current expenses. He had lost 
both the habit and the ability to perform manual labor, 
by the long absence from the hardships of rough and 
assiduous toil. So he is driven to his wit's ends, finally 
falling on a stratagem. 

4. "I am resolved what to do in ordeir that when I 
am put out of my stewardship they shall receive me into 
their homes." Calling each one of the debtors of his lord, 
he said to the first. How much do you owe my lord? 
And he said, A hundred measures of oil. And he said 
to him. Take out thy accounts and sitting down write 
fifty. Then he said to another, How much do you owe ? 
And he said, A hundred m^easures of wheat. And he said 
to him. Take thy accounts and write eighty. And the 
lord praised the steward of unrighteousness because he 
did wisely: because the children of this age are wiser 
in their generation than the children of light. "And I 
say unto you. Make to yourselves friends of the mam- 
mon of unrighteousness in order that when it may fail 
you, they may receive you into eternal habitations. 



yi 



Jesus Preaches in Perea. 221 

"Lord^^ in this parable, does not mean God, but the land- 
lord in whose service this steward had long been em- 
ployed. The salient point in the parable is the wisdom 
which the Holy Ghost inspires, and will make us wise 
unto sahration. It is here illustrated by the temporal 
shrewdness of this steward. He made these condone- 
ments before he gave up the books and really went out 
of office, doubtless transacting the business privately 
with each debtor,and by thus doing him a favor, bringing 
him under obligations to him and preparing the way 
for the help he would need in the emergencies coming on 
him: illustrating the transcendent importance on the 
part of every probationer, to provide for the emergency 
speedily, when we must give an account of our steward- 
ship. There is no insinuation of apology for fraudu- 
lent dealing, in order to provide for temporal emergen- 
cies. As a rule, a parable has only about one great sali- 
ent truth elucidated and enforced. In this that tran- 
scendent truth is the wisdom which makes us sacrifice 
and forfeit everything in order to secure the favor of 
God and a home in Heaven. It is a universal, patent 
fact, corroborated by constant observation, that a greater 
degree of wisdom is manifested in providing for the 
emergencies of this life than fox that which is to come. 
The climax of this parable is the commandment 
(verse 9), ^^Make to yourselves friends of the mammon 
of unrighteousness, in order that when it may fail you^ 
they may receive you into eternal habitations.^^ Money 
is the mammon of unrighteousness, here contrasted with 
the grace of God, which we ought to seek with more 
avidity than worldly people seek after gold. While ^^the 
love of money is the root of all evils,^^ actually putting a 



222 Life of Jesus and His Apostles. 

scepter in the hands of the money-god^ by which he rules 
his millions^, sinking them into perdition^ jet we mu-^t 
admit that money is the greatest power on the earth; 
e. g.^ the British Empire this day rules the world by her 
mone)^ power^ because she has been piling up gold in the 
Bank of England the last thousand years. There k -only 
one possfible expedient by which you can make money 
your friend^ and that is the real experience oi entire 
sanctification. Get sanctified wholly^ and you are more 
than a match for money. You command it, and it goes 
to the end of the earth to save souls. Sister Ferguson, 
•of Los Angeles, Cal., has a hundred missionaries in the 
field. Doubtless many of their converts will get to Heav- 
en before she 'does, and will be ready, through the notifi- 
cation of the guardian angel, when her frail body fails on 
earth, to meet her at the pearly gate with a long, loud 
welcome home. 

Pursuant to this warning of our Savior, we should 
all be so sanctified that we shall have complete con- 
trol over money and all the things of this world, condu- 
cive to the happy welcome into glory, which we all so 
much desire. Therefore we should not only send our 
money to the heathen beyond the seas, like the ravens 
feeding Elijah, to bear the bread of life to famishing 
millions, but we should utilize the wisdom which the 
Holy Ghost freely gives, in helping the widows, the or- 
phans, the poor, and doing our utmost to send the light 
of truth and righteousness into every home far and near, 
thus^bringing all the people we can help under obliga- 
tions to us, as we are quickly going to deliver up our 
stewardship and stand before God. 



Jesus Preaches in Perca. 223 

THE RICH MAN AND LAZARUS. 

Y: 19-31. Here we have the abbreviated biography of 
two representative men, standing at the antipodes of the 
world ; the one at the top, and the other at the bottom. 
The Tyrians and Sidonians became inmiensely rich early 
in the post-diluvian world^because they managed to get a 
*^corner^ on the manufacture of the beautiful, costly, iscar- 
let robes, bought for immense money, and worn by all 
the kings of the earth. Meanwhile,the Egyptians reached 
a similar celebrity for making the fine linen used by the 
kings for underwear. Here we see a man so rich that he 
is a king at his own expense, like many money autocrats 
at the present day. He was a member of the Jewish 
council; of course, standing at the head of it. He is 
known throughout the land, honored for his wealth, wis- 
dom, enterprise and philanthropy. We certainly have no 
reason' to believe that Lazarus was the only beggar who 
participated in his benefactions and enjoyed the compan- 
ionship of the dogs. In process of time the beggar dies^ 
and is carried by the angels to Abraham^s bosom; i. e._, 
the intermediate paradise, whither all the 0. T. saints 
went and rested in unmingled joy till Christ led the way 
into heaven after His resurrection, having abolished that 
intermediate paradise during His visit thither w^hile His 
body lay in the sepulchre (Eph. -1:8-10), and leading 
them all with Him into Heaven. Meanwhile the ricli 
man dies, honored with a magnificent funeral, as the 
Greek implies, and to his unutterable surprise, finds 
him-self in hell irystead of heaven. The Greek reveals 
that both Dives and Lazarus went to Hades, the latter 
into Abraham's bosom (i. e., the 0. T. paradise), and 



224: Life of Jesus and His Apostles. 

the former into the burning tartarus, these two places 
being separated by a chasm (verse 26) impassable to all 
finite beings. Every human being living on the earth is 
this day in the accession of the one or the other ; these 
prominent, contrastive and diametrically opposite char- 
acters representing every vicissitude and diversity of life 
and character in all ages and nations. The fact that 
Dives was a prominent church member, honorable, influ- 
ential and pompously funeralized himself, and the mag- 
nates of the church believing that the angels took him to 
heaven, while really the devils dragged hi-m into hell, 
ought to alarm all his successors to look out and be 
sure that they are always ready to give a reason for the 
hope that is in them. ]\Iany preach ^brotherly love^ as a 
passport to heaven. This man had it, even after he 
landed in hell, loving his five brothers so that he wanted 
to send them a missionary to warn them and keep them 
out of that awful abyss of devouring flame. Tie selected 
Lazarus, the hottest holiness crank he had ever known, 
being unwilling to leave them in the hands of the un- 
solicitous pastors, w^ho had let the devil get him. 

In this notable parable we have three silent points-; 
i .e., life, death, and the state beyond. If we are going 
to live with Lazarus in heaven, we must walk in his 
track and die as he died encircled by ministering 
angels. The great trouble is, the people all want to live 
like Dives. In that case, they will die like him and wake 
up in hell. He lived for this world and lost his souL 
Lazarus lived for heaven and found the angels ready and 
waiting, when he evacuated that suffering body, to en- 
circle him in their pinions of light and bear him to 
Abraham^s bosom. 



Jesus Preaches in Perea. 225 

THE KINGDOM OF GRACE. 

17 :20. ^^Being interrogated by the Pharisees when 
the kingdom of God cometh^ He responded and said, The 
kingdom of God cometh not by observation^ neither will 
they sa}', Lo ! here or there, for behold the kingdom of 
God is among yon.'^ The E. V. is not tenable, ^Svithin 
you'^ being out of harmony with the fact that He is 
speaking to those Pharisees, whom He pronounces hypo- 
crites. The better meaning of eiitos is ^among,^ which is 
perfectly consistent and true, because He and His disci- 
ples represented the kingdom in the capacity of King 
and subjects. The popular idea is very erroneous, be- 
cause of the prominence given to observable phenomena ; 
e. g., outward signs and manifestations diversified in 
their character. We should ever profit by His affirma- 
tion that the kingdom comes, not by observation; i. e., 
not by an}i:hing we can see or hear, but by the silent 
lightning of the Holy Ghost. X. B. — The thunder never 
kills anything ; the lightning does all the execution, and 
makes no noise. In His first advent, our Savior brought 
with Him the kingdom of grace (Eom. 14:17) ; when 
He comes again. He will bring the kingdom of glory. 
The popular mind in His day was much confused by 
mixing up the prophecies appertaining to the two ad- 
vents. We wonder over this confusion, and think they 
ought to have understood the prophecies more thor- 
oughly, whereas, we are this day confronted by the same 
confusion and even worse, the most vigorous efforts be- 
ing made by the preachers of the orthodox churches to 
actually do away with the kingdom of glory on the earth 
by twisting even the utterances of Jesus, so direct and 



226 Life of Jesus and His Apostles, 

unmistakable^, into synonymy with His utterances rela* 
tive to the kingdom of grace. 

THE KINGDOM OF GLORY. 

V. 17-22; 18-8. Our Lord now proceeds to differenti- 
ate the kingdom of glory, which cometh by the greatest 
observation, from the kingdom of grace, which is 
wrought silently by the Holy Ghost in the heart, and 
without observation. 

24. "For aiS' the lightning flashing out of the one part 
which is under the heaven shineth unto the other pari 
under heaven, so shall be the Son of Man in His day.^' 
Here you see the most decisive and unmistakable con.- 
trast between the kingdcm of grace, which comes not by 
observation, but by the silcrst work of the Spirit in the. 
heart, with the kingdom of glory, which is demonstrated 
in the supeTlative degree, attracting observation like tha 
lightning, which is the most observable thing in the 
world. ^^But in the first place it behooveth Him to suffer 
many things, and to be condemned by this generatiou- 
Whereas^ they were 'all looking for the kingdom of glory 
then to appear,in the coronation of Jesus at the Passover^ 
He notifies them that it is not coming at that time, and 
that He i& going to die instead of receiving the kingdom 
of Israel. Then He proceeds to tell them that the com- 
ing of the Son of man and the ushering in of His king- 
dom, will be like it was in the days of Noah, when he 
and his family went up in the ark ; symbolizing the cloud 
in which the saints will be caught up to meet the Lord, 
and Lot and his daughters rescued from Sodom ; where- 
by the awful doom of the wicked antediluvians, caugiit 



Jesus Preaches in Perea. 227 

by the floods and tlie SodomiteS;, consumed by the fire, 
forcibly symbolize the doom of this wicked worlds over- 
taken in the great tribulation when the Lord comes and 
takes up His bride. Just as the antediluvians and Sod- 
omites were pressing along^ building, buying, selling, 
and marrying till tlie awful destruction came^ so it will 
be with this unbelieving generation. 

33. ^"^Whosoever may seek to save his soul shall lose 
it, and if anyone shall lose it, he shall find it.^^ We 
all come into the w^orld with a bad soul (Adam the First- 
the carnal mind), which shall die, if we would live for- 
ever in heaven. Therefore, if we hold on to *this fallen 
soul, w^e shall lose our immortal spiritual life. But if 
we submit to the crucifixion of the carnal mind by the 
Holy Ghost^ we will live forever. Zodgonessei means 
the parturition of animals, giving birth to their young, 
the anim.al of course having a real existence in its com- 
plete organism before it comes into the aerial world. 
The word vividly and forcibly describes the transfigura- 
tion of the saints, when we will suddenly come out of 
mortality, retaining our literal personal identity, but 
passing into a state hitherto never known nor experi- 
enced. 

34. "I say unto j'ou, on that night, two men shall 
be sleeping on one bed, the one will be taken and the 
other be left ; two women shall be grinding at the same 
mill, the one shall be taken and the other left.^^ These 
utterances set forth a clear and unmistakable presenti- 
ment of the rapture in which the saints will be taken up 
from all parts of the world in their various employments 
and attitudes. 

^"^Eesponding, they say to Him, where, Lord? He 



228 Life of Jesus and His Apostles, 

said to them^ Wherever the carcass is^ there also the 
eagles will be gathered/^ The buzzard is the eagle 
species and noted as the scavenger bird, devouring dead 
bodies. This prophecy was verified clearly and unmis- 
takably in the destruction o-f Jerusalem : even the Eo-man 
battle-flags having the eagle pictured on them, which 
was the symbol of their nationality. 

18 :1. ^^And He spake a parable to them that they 
should always pray and not f aint.^^ The meaning of this 
is that His people should pray constantly that He should 
return in. His glory to take them up. ^'^Saying, there 
was a certain judge in a certain city, neither fearing Grod 
nor regardiing man. And there was a widow in that 
city, and she continued to come to him, saying. Avenge 
me of mine adversary; and he would not for a time; 
but after these things, he said to himself. Though I fear 
not God nor regard onan ; because this widow giveth unto 
me trouble, I will avenge her, lest coming on forever, she 
may smite me in the face. And the Lord said. Hear 
what the unjust judge sayeth. Must not God make ven- 
geance in behalf of His own elect ^crying day and night, 
even though He suffer long toward them? I say unto 
you that He will execute vengeance in their behalf speed- 
ily. Moreover, the Son of man having come, will he then 
find faith on the earth ?^^ The unjust judge here sym- 
bolizes God in the isolated phase of His absolute inde- 
pendent sovereignt}', while the adversary is the devil, and 
^ the woman is the bride of Christ, mourning in her wid- 
owhood ever since her divine spouse flew up from Mt. 
Olivet, walking away on the white clouds into bright 
glory. 

During all these dark centuries of Satan^s reign, he 



Jesus r reaches in Perea, 229 

has been constantly persecuted;, while the popular 
church in her fallen state has long ago given up her 
ascended Lord and ceased to look for Bim, having entered 
into adulterous alliances with worldly lovers. The true^ 
loyal bride' of Christy in her bereavement and widow- 
hood^ has continued through the centuries^ to cry to 
God to send back her glorified husband from heaven^ 
that He may put the devil out of the Avorld and give her 
the victory. You see here the implication is^ when the 
Lord comes^ very few people on the earth will have faith 
for His coming. Hence^ the inquiry^ ^Tv'ill He find 
faith on the earth ?^^ really has a negative answer, not 
hecause there wall be none looking for Him, but because 
there will be so few. jST. B. — All this is harmonious 
wdth the fact recognized throughout the parable, that the 
true church, the loyal bride of Christ, will be on the con- 
stant outlook, watching, waiting, incessantly praying 
Ood to send back her Divine Spouse, that He may take 
Tfengeance on the devil, her adversary, arrest, chain and 
put him. eut of the world: promoting His bride to the 
S'ufeordina?te dominion ef the world (Eev. 20.) 

THE PHARISEE AND THE PUBLICA:^'. 

V : 9-14. Here we have a vivid contrast between dead, 
formal religion and non-professing worldliness, the laU 
ier under deep eonviction, freely pardoned and gloriously 
saved; the former cloaked with self -righteousness, im- 
penitent, blinded by the devil, makes his bed in hell. 

THE DIVORCE QUESTION". 

Matt 19 :3-9. Here we have the fact revealed that 



230 Life of Jesus and His Apostles, 

matrimony actually unifies husband and wife in the di- 
vine estimation^ so they are no longer two^ but one. 
Such is the nature and character of adultery^ that it de- 
stroys the matrimonial unity. Then, for the protec- 
tion of the innocent party, the Prince of Life grants a 
divorcement, which is simply a ratification of the matri- 
monial nullification. The word translated divorcement 
is apostasia; i. e., that it develops a radical, spiritual rev- 
olution, destroying the work of grace in the heart and 
relegating 'the party back to Satan^s kingdom, out of 
which regeneration delivered him. The literal significa- 
tion of this word involves the utter annihilation of the 
matrimonial unification, and the return of the recipient,, 
to the celibacy where matrimony found him. 

N". B. — This conclusion is tenable only in case of 
Scriptural divorcement; the country being filled with 
unlawful marriages and innumerable, illegal divorce- 
ments, sanctioned by the local State laws, wherever the 
parties are financially able to fee a lawyer. "But I say 
unto you, that whosoever may put away his wife, except 
for fornication, and marry another, committeth adultry ; 
and the man having married the cast off woman (not as 
for fornication,and marry another, committeth adulter}^ ; 
above erroneous translation of E. V. has caused much 
trouble grieving those whom Grod has not grieved, wreck- 
ing souls and throwing a dark s-hadow over many a home, 
otherwise bright with the sun of immortal hope. ''Apole- 
lumerieonf translated 'divorced,^' has no such meaning, 
but simply a cast off woman; i. e., the woman whose 
tyrannical husband has driven her from home. The reas- 
on why the man marrying herbecomes guilty of adultery, 
is because she is still the wife of that cruel husband \^ha 



Jesus Preaches in Ferea. 231 

has driven her from home. Our Savior here alludes to 
Moses, who granted divorcements for incompatibility of 
tenn^ers; thus choosing the less of two evils. This^ Jesus 
abrogates; our dispensation occupying a higher plane 
than the Mosaic. We find many cases at the present day 
so complicated that the Mosaic law^ on matrimoney^ 
seems to be the best they can do^ which is evidently far 
better than living without law. 

CELIBACY. 

Matt. 10 :12. '"His disciples say to Him, If the case 
of a man with his wife is thus, it is better not to marry. 
And He said to them. All do not receive this word, but 
those to whom it has been given. For there are eunuchs 
who were so born from the womb of the mother; and 
there are eunuchs who were made eunuchs by men ; and 
there are eunuchs who eunuchized themselves on account 
of the kingdom of heaven. Let him receive it, who is able 
to receive it.^^ A eunuch is a man who lives in perpet- 
ual celibacy all his life, abstaining from matrimony. 
Our Lord observes that some are born deficient of the 
pro-creative organs, while others have been emasculated 
by human hand ,and still others who have rendered 
themselves eunuchs in the interest of the Lord's king- 
dom. Among the latter, were the Apostle Paul and 
Bishops Asuhury, McKendre and George. During tha 
middle ages, many of the Lord^s people devoted them- 
selves to monastic life; abiding in perpetual celibacy for 
the kingdom of Christ. 

THE LITTLE CHILDREN. 

Mark 10 :13-16. Here we see many infants brought 



€32 Life of Jesus and His Apostles, 

to Him for His blessing. Despite the protestations of 
His discipldes^ who chided their parents for bringing 
them^ He takes them np in His arms^ and continues to 
bless them copiously, thus confirming nnif orm Xew Tes- 
tament teaching that while onr infants are all fallen in 
Adam, they are redeemed in Christ; so that they are 
actually born in the kingdom, and get out only by per- 
sonal transgression. 

THE RICH YOUNG MAN. 

Matt. 19 :30. This young man, who comes run- 
ning, falling down and worshiping the Savior, is not to 
be identified with the Pharisees who were so prominent 
in all His diseourses. On the contrary, he is actually 
a paragon 0. T. saint; irreproachable before the law; 
having kept all the commandments from his youth up. 

GOD^ ALONE, ABSOLUTELY GOOD. 

Matt. 19 :16. ^^Behold one having come, said to Him, 
Good Master, what thing shall I do that I may inherit 
eternal life? And He said to him. Why do you call me 
good? No one is good, but One , and that 
is God.^^ False exegesis has expounded this 
as a refusal, on the part of Jesus, to let 
them call him good; a great mistake; it is a recogni- 
tion of the young man^s indirect confession of His di- 
vinity ; i. e., as much as to say, ^^You call me good, and 
such I am; but as God alone is good, therefore you call 
me God, for such I am.^^ We apply the adjective ^good^ 
to people, frequently, but only in a moral and philan- 



Jesus PreacKes in Perea, 233 

thropic sense. Spiritually considered^ they are not good 
people^ as that would imply that they had never sinned, 
which is not true. All sinned similarly, in the 'fall/ while, 
all who have knowingly violated the law of God, have 
sinned personally. A justified man is a pardoned sin- 
ner; a sanctified man, a purified sinner, while a good 
man is one who never did commit sin, the Man Jesus 
being the only one who ever trod the globe. 

JESUS REQUIRES PERFECTION-. 

V : 20. ^The young man says to Him ; all these things 
have I kept from my youth; what lack I yet? Jesus said 
to him. If you wish to be perfect, go sell all your pos- 
sessions and give to the poor, and you shall have treas- 
ure in Heaven ; come hither, follow me.^^ You see from 
our Savior^s response that He requires perfection. The 

iTDjni[D. oqq. JO ouuq oq; si ubui SnnOi( siq; ^}]^ O'^qnoi; 
to-day; i. e., the love of money. We see lie stumbled 
over it, and in all probability lost his soul. He was a 
beautiful and amiable Old Testament saint, only need- 
ing sanctification to make him a bona-fide member of 
the gospel church. We have illustrative parables by 
thousands on all sides, this day; i. e., people who have 
spent years walking in the light of justification, sud- 
denly confronted by the gospel of entire sanctification; 
unfortunately stumbling over it, back-sliding and sink- 
ing into perdition. 

THE NEEDLE'^S EYE. 

V:23-26. Here our Lord observes to His disciples 
when He saw the signal rebuff of the young man, be- 
cause of his riches; and knowing how exceedingly diffi- 



234 Life of Jesus and His Apostles, 

cult it is for the rich to filter into the Kingdom of God ; 
startled them by the affirmation^ "^"^It is easier for a camel 
to go through the ej^e of a needle than for a rich man 
to enter into the Kingdom of God/^ Among the sym- 
bolisms of the old dispensation^ riches were prominent; 
e. g., Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Job were all million- 
aires; while Daniel was actually prime-minister of a 
universal empire, counting his gold by millions; God 
having in this way showered on His prophets and saints 
temporal blessings, symbolic of the exuberant, spiritual 
endowments, with which lie enriched their experiences. 
Many devices have been laid under embargo, to har- 
monize the scriptures with the reasonings of the car- 
nal mind. When a little boy I heard this difficulty in- 
geniously explained awa)^, alleging that there is a gate 
leading through the wall of Jerusalem into the city, 
called the ^^needle^s eye/^ During both of my visits to 
the Holy Land, I diligently investigated the Holy 
City, traveling around its walls and going through the 
streets, and exploring it thoroughly. There are seven 
gates entering the city. David^s Gate stands on Mt. 
Zion, leading from Jerusalem into the City of David. 
The Jopp'a Gate leads through the west wall, a short 
distance from its junction with the north wall. The 
IS evr Gate leads through the north wall, about one-third 
of the distianc^i from the Noirth-west comer. The Damas- 
cus Gate leads through the north wall, about midway. 
Herod's Gate leads through the north wall near the 
ISTorth-oast comer. St. Steven's Gate leads through 
the east wall near its intersection with the 
north wall of the Temple, while the Excre- 
ment Gate leads thraugh the south wall about 



Jesus Preaches in Perea, 235 

midway^ being used for the deportation of the off'al out 
of the Citj;, into the Valley of Jehosaphat. I counted 
seven gates^ ohlivious of the Beautiful Gate, which 
leads into the Temple from the east^ where the wall of 
the City and that of the Temple are identical. It makes 
the eighth. I did not count it, from the fact that it 
is never used ; the Moslems having a prediction that the 
moment it is opened, their power falls, at Jerusalem. 
Therefore it has been closed and kept impregnable, ever 
since the Mohammedans captured the city in A. D., 637. 
The pulpit allegation above mentioned, certifies that 
there is a gate entering through the walls of Jerusalem^ 
called the ^'Needle's Eye/' and so small that a camel 
cannot pass through it unless divested of his load. 
Suffice it to say the whole affair is utterly fabulous and 
untrue; there being no ^Xeedle^s Eye^ Gate, and every 
gate of the citybeing large enough for the camel to enter 
with his load. Another subterfuge from the " difficulty 
here presented by the Savior, is that the Greek word for 
camel means also a large rope, used to cable a ship. 
Therefore, an attempt is made to evade the force of this 
declaration, by applying the word, not to the animal but 
to the rope. This is also a mistake, no truth in it ; because 
the word for the ship rope, being Jcalimos and that for the 
animal, hameelos. Therefore the parallel argument ut- 
terly falls to the ground. 

THE APOSTLES THE FIRST RULERS OF THE WORLD, DURING 
THE MILLENNIAL THEOCRACY. 

V: 27-30. ^'Then Peter resiponding, said to Him; Be- 
ihold! we have forsaken all things and followed thee; 
what then s^hall be unto us? And Jesus 'Siaid to them; 



236 Life of Jesus and His Apostles. 

Truly, I say unto you that you who have followed me, 
in the regeneration, when the Son of Man may sit upon 
the Throne of Glory, you also, may sit upon twelve 
thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel/^ 

The utterances of our Savior at this point, are clear 
and unmistakable and susceptible of only the one easy 
solution ; i. e., that during the fulfillment of the prophe- 
cy, Eev. 20,it is affirmed that ihe transfigured saints will 
rule the world as the subordinates of Christ, during the 
millennium :meanwhile,the Apostles w ill be the first rul 
ers of the nation, this being, even now, forcibly corrobor- 
ated by the fact that there are just about twelve great 
national and governmental divisions on the earth 
to-day. 

THE ELEVENTH HOUR MOVEMENT. 

Matt. 20. In this parable the word translated 
penny in E. V. is denanon^ and does not mean the pen- 
ny, but ten pennies. The oriental penny contains a 1 1-2 
cts. of our money. Therefore this denarion, which each 
one of the laborers received a day, was worth 15 ctis. 
Money was not so abundant then as now, and hence the 
more valuable. This denarion was the regular wages 
of the Eoman soldier. You observe here that they rode 
out at six o^clock in the morning and hired some ; then 
more at nine. Still others at noon, and at 3. p.m., fin- 
ally going out at five p.m., they found still others stand- 
ing idle, who, upon the interrogation, ^^Why stand ye 
here all the day idle?^^ responded, "Because no one has 
Mred us.'' Then He said to them, Go ye also, into the 
vineyard and whatsoever is right I will pay you.'^ There 
is a striking fact in the ca.se of the eleventhy hour labor- 



Jesus Preaches in Perea. 237 

ers, for it is said that no one had hired them ; involvings 
at leasts a strong suspicion that there was some defi- 
ciency about them^ in view of which^ they were not hired 
at an earlier hour. The ages have been swiftly rolling 
away. Six thousand years are alm'O&t numbered! with the 
cycles of eternity. Grod has been calling the world, especi- 
ally manifesting Himself at the different epochs in by- 
gone ages. All the ehronologiescorroboratej tlieconclusion 
that we are living in the end of the Gentile dispensa- 
tion, amid the dawTi of the millennium. When Jesus 
bade His church adieu^ for His return to Glory, He com- 
missioned it to preach the gospel to every nation, assur- 
ing it that He would return on the throne of His glory, 
as soon as the work was completed. Never before, in the 
history of the world, was the church so stirred up on 
missionary enterprise as now. The holiness movement 
is girdling the globe with heavenly fire and shaking the 
nations with the gigantic tread of her embattled host, 
marching on to victory. Wonderful reasons in former 
ages,unapparent,are now m'anifest,for demanding a more 
vigorous prosecution of the war against sin and Satan 
than ever before. Consequently this eleventh hour move- 
ment is simply hiring all the hitherto unused mater- 
ial that she can get her hands on. See what an exceed- 
ingly prominent part the women are taking in the pres- 
ent movement ! EVen the saloons and darkest hell-dens 
are turning out their blood-washed and fire-baptized wit- 
nesses to this wonderful salvation, and sending them to 
the ends of the earth, to preach the unsearchable riches 
of Christ. I do believe we are now living in the midst 
of .the eleventh hour movement, permitted to hear the 
last call and see the people on all sides, falling in line 



238 Life of Jesus and His Apostles. 

and marching away to the battlefields. The unity of 
remun'eration^ consists in the fact that God Himself is 
our everlasting reward and our portion, through all 
eternity. This unity of recompense is not out of har- 
mony with the diversity of remuneration which we 
frequently find mentionad ; because while God is a unit^ 
yet there is an endless diversity in the receptivity of 
different persons; some appropriating vastly more of 
God^s inexhaustible divinity and infinite grace than 
others. You find some of these persons murmur against 
the landlord who hired them. Of course they were 
counterfeits, as there are no murmurers in heaven. This 
conclusion is perfectly compatible with the concluding 
statement; "Many are called, but few elected.^^ These 
murmurers heard the call but were not elected, and so 
proved a failure. We observe that all sorts of apparent 
irregularities are peculiar to this eleventh hour move- 
ment, arising from the fact that it is a case of emer- 
gency ; laying all possible resources and expediencies un- 
der contribution to evangelize the whole earth and get 
ready for the coming of the Lord. Oh, how v/onder- 
fully this ^deventh hour^ movem.ent is using the diver- 
sities of material which have been rejected by all the 
churches, and how signally is God putting His seal on. 
to harmonize the most impracticable and inefficient in- 
struments. He is truly raising up from the slums and 
the jungles, a panoplied army, m.arching forth under 
the blood-tstained banner of King Jesus, to the conquest 
of the world, and fast throwing into eclipse the cultured 
clergy. 



Jesus Freaclies in Perea. 239 

UNREVEALED PROPHECY OF JESUS. 

Luke, 18:32-34. 'Tor He will be delivered to the 
Gentiles, will be mocked, insulted and spat upon, and 
they, scourging Hini,will kill Him, and on the third day 
He will rise. Andl they understood none of these things 
and t!he word wias hidden from them, and they did not 
Know those things which were spoken. ^^ This is the third 
prediction of His awful fate and tragical martyrdom 
awaiting Him in Jerusalem, and you see the clear 
affirmiation, that it was 'hidden from them so they un- 
derstood none of those things. Why was this? Be- 
cause the prediction was necessary to the completion of 
the prophetical curriculum which is the basis of Chris- 
tian faith in all ages. The concealment was nec- 
essary to hold the elements in check, till Jesus could 
actually complete the atonement and lay down His life 
and redeem a lost world. If His friends had under- 
stood that prophecy, they would have raised an awful 
commotion, revolutionized the eountry, fought, bled, and 
died in His defense. Jesus was the incarnation of mer- 
cy : while He proceeded to die for the. world, He wanted 
no blood to flow but His own. 

AMBITIOX OF JAMES AXD JOHN. 

Mark 10 :35-45. Jesus has spent about a week trav- 
eling and preaching in Perea, the country of the two 
and one half tribes east of the Jordan. His face is to- 
wards Jerusialem. Vast multitudes hang with breathless 
silence on His honeyed lips, day by day ; thrilled, electri- 
fied and bewildered with. His wonderful preaching; all 



240 Life of Jesus and His Apostles. 

d-eeply and strangely impressed^ that something tre- 
mendous is pending. As they know that the Passover is 
to open in Jerusalem in a few days and see that He is 
going to it, having omitted that festival a year ago, 
spending the time in Galilee; because He knew they 
would crown Him King and the Eomans would kill Him 
if He went. Therefore the general anticipation and a 
deep conviction is settling Cown on the people. He will 
be crowned King of the Jews during the Passover, in 
Jerusalem. Apprehending this great and notable event 
and the radical, e'cclesiastical revolution destined 
to follow, James and John, along with Peter, the 
most p'rominent apostles, cognomened by the Lord, ^sons 
of thunder f ventured to ask Him for the first places in 
His Kingdom, which they believed would be set up in a 
few days. Matthew siays, Salome, their mother, made the 
request. I trow it was mutual. Our Lord here re- 
sponds, '^'^Are you able to drink the cup which I drink 
and be baptized with the baptism with which I am bap- 
tized ?^^ 

They responded in' the affirmative. Jesus here alludetS 
to the bloody martyrdom which awaited Him. They did 
not understanid Him, but they received it. James, first 
of all, was beheaded' by King Herod, John, miraculously 
saved from the caldron of boiling oil in Eome, A. D. 95, 
lived on six years and is believed to have been translated 
to Heaven alive. Here the Lord notifies His disciples 
that His kingdom, unlike all others, promotes by humil- 
iation, so that the first in power and influence are really 
the servants of all. V. 45. "For the Son of Man came 
not to be ministered unto, but to minister and to 
give His soul a ransom for many/^ So in His Kingdom 



Jesiis Preaclies in Perea, 241 

there is nothing placed before anyone, but service and 
martyrdom, whereas, it is positively said that He died 
for all. The many here mentioned, has a subjective sig- 
nification, meaning only those who in the mercy and 
providence of God, in all ages and nations, make th-eir 
way through ; finally, landing in Heaven, 



CHAPTEE X. 

THRILLING EVENTS FACILITATING THE FINAIiE. 

Jes'us and the multitudes have cTOssed? out of Perea 
into Judea^ at the ford where Israel crossed^ under Josh- 
ua^ opposite Jericho, which is in full view for a dozen 
miles toward the west, where the Jerusalem; road reaches 
the plain of the Jordan. We have two Jerich'O'S) promi- 
nent in the Bible and another standing at the present 
d'ay. These three Jericho'S repres-ent a right angled 
triangle; the old Jericho of Joshua at the north angle, 
the new Jericho, here mentioned', as standing in the days 
of Christ, three miles s'outh, and the Jericho now stand- 
ing; having been built by the Crusaders in the Twelfth 
Century. The old Jericho of Joshua^s time was de- 
,sitroyed, when Israel shouted (the walls down ; and pur- 
suant to divine prohibition, never wasi rebuilt. The Jeri- 
cho of our Savior^Q time was destroyed by the Eo'inanis, in 
the desolation of the land, A. D. 66-73. The Jericho 
of the Crusaders is still standing. I lodged in it d-uring 
both of my tour®. 

It is now the Jewish Sabbath , our Saturday. Jesus 
ooms to Jericho, acoompanied by the mighty host. 

BLIND BARTIMEUS. 

Mark 10:46-52. Mark gives the account of blind 
Bartimeus, sitting by the wayside,begging. His attention 
being arrested by the tread of the mighty host, upon in- 

242 



Thrilling Events Facilitating the Finale, 243 

quiry learming that it is Jesus the Xazarene passing 
by^ importunately exclaims^ ^^Jesus, thou son of David, 
have mercy on me."' Many rebuked him, ordering him to 
desist from his uproarious clamtor. But all in vain, as 
he only exclaimed the more vociferously and persistently. 
Jesus stops in the road and tells them to call him. Those 
near by speak to him< saying, Be of good cheer ;He calleth 
thee. And laying his cloak down, rising up, he comes to 
Jesus, (Y. 51.) Jesu's responding, says to him., ^^What do 
you wish that I should do to you ?'' The blind man said 
to Hdm,^^Master,that I m'ay receive my sight/^ Jesus said 
to him, ^^Go,thy' faith hath saved thee ! And immediately 
he looked up, and followed Jesus in the way.^^ Doubtless 
Bartimeus went on with Him to Jerusalem, and wit- 
nessed His tragic death. In this translation, you see, 
clearly and unmistakably, that our faith is the measur- 
ing line of what we receive from God. Hence the con- 
stant pertinency of the prayer, ^'^Lord, increase our 
faith.^^ Luke corroborates Mark here, in his testimony 
that the miracle of this blind man took place as they 
were coming into Jericho; while Matthew certifies that 
two blind m.en; were restored, while He was going out 
from the city. Doubtless they are all correct, Mark and 
Luke giving the case of Bartimeus, and Matthew, that 
of ty^o others. 

COXVERSIOX OF ZACCIIAEUS. 

Luke 19 :2-10. ^^Behold a man by name called Zac- 
chseus, land'he was chief of the publicans and he was rich 
and wag seeking to see Jesus and learn w^ho he was, and 
was not able for the crowd, because he was <&mall in stat- 
ure. And having run before -them, he went up into a 



244 Life of Jesus and His Apostles, 

sycamore tree, in order that he might see Him, because 
He was about to pass that 'way. And when he came to 
the place Jesus, looking up, saw him and said to him; 
Zacchaeus, hasten to come down, for it behooveth me to 
■abide in thy bouse to-day/^ And hastening he caane 
dow^n and received him joyfully. And when they saw it 
they all murmured,saying ; "He has gone to abide with a 
m.an who is a sinner. And Zacchaeus standing, said to 
the Lord ; *^^Behold, Lord, I give the half of my goods to 
the poor, and if I have defrauded 'anything from -any 
one, I restore four-f old.^^ And Jesus said to him ; "this 
day salvation ha-s come to this house, as he indeed was 
the son of Abraham ; for the Son of mian oame to seek 
and to 'Save -the lost/^ 

This notable conversion took place on Saturday after- 
noon; i. e., the Sabbath. Zacchaeus, though a Jew, had 
accepted the revenue office from the Eoman govern- 
ment, which rendered him exceedingly unpopular among 
the Jews,consequently,stignamatizedhim as a ^sinner,^the 
Greek armartolos, being a very strong word applied to 
the vilest reprobates, both male and female. As he was 
chief of the publicans, standing at the head of the reve- 
nue office in that city, the presumption, is that he had 
never left his business long enough to go away and see 
Jesus. The Greek ezeeter in the imperfect tense, implies 
continuation. Doubtless he had heard so much about 
Jesus, that he was already deeply impressed; not only 
anxious, but determined to see Him. This is illustrated 
by his climbing the tree, which would be considered 
very undignified; especially with a gentleman of rank 
and wealth, enjoying a position at the head of the reve- 
nue department. We see how unhesitatingly he sacri* 



Thrilling Events Facilitating the Finale. 245 

fioed dignity and popularity tbat he might see Jesus. 
The sycamore is the Egyptian fig tree, much larger than 
the Palestinian. When Jesus sees him He calls him 
down, at the same time notifying him that He is going 
to lodge with him, which is very important, because they 
must quickly enter the wilderness of Judea and pass 
through it on their way to Jerusalem. The very fact 
that he came down ^chairoon/ rejoicing,involves the con- 
clusion that he was actually converted up in that tree. 
As blind Bartimeus was his fellow citizen, into whose 
tat he has dropped many a contribution, I trow he came 
skipping and shouting, his flashing eyeballs radiating 
the in'dubitable tesJtimony to the mighty w^ork of 
which he was the happy recipient. His conversion is al- 
iso most abundantly and d'emonstratively enforced by hi? 
testimony, ^The half of my goods I give to the poor/' 
That was a wonderful jump for a rich-strung Jew, and 
certainly a sun-burst, gladdening the hearts of the poor. 
^^If I have defrauded any one out of any^;hing I will re- 
store f our-f old.^^ The Greek shows that he was actually 
guilty of fraudulent dealing. He was a loyal son of 
Abraham, and now that he is converted to G-ad, he is 
determined to make all wrongs right. The penalty for 
theft under the law of Moses, was simple restitution; 
in case of a sheep or a goat, two-fold; in case of an ox, 
three-fold; in case of a horse or a camel, four- fold. So 
Zacchaeus is not willing to take any risk in the matter, 
He has set out for salvation and he is going to have it 
at any cost. Consequently, he covers the law at a single 
hound, lighting on quadruple restitution.: the highest de- 
mand of the violated law. By the time he has thus 
given the half to the poor and restored all his ill- 



246 Life of Jesus and His Apostles. 

gotten gains four-fold^he is unincumbered with the things 
of this world and ready to fall in with his neighbor Bar- 
timeus and others, and swell the happy throng already 
crowding in the track of Jesus; who is still going over 
the earth^seeking to save all who are lost, like Zacchaeus. 
Oh, how quickly did salvation come when Zacchaeus got 
to seeking Jesus, who had been seeking him all his life. 
So when the seeking is mutual, salvation comes quick* 
ly in every case. 

DEPARTURE OF JESUS AND HIS TRIUMPHANT RETURN. 

11-27. Jesus having already notified Zacchaeus that 
He will abide over night in his house, which is near by, 
having gone home with him, halts in front of his door 
and delivers this beautiful and wonderful parable to 
the listening multitude, halted and held spell-bound 
as usual, by His thrilling utterances, on the kingdom, 
which He illustrates by the parable of a nobleman go* 
ing to a far-off country to receive a kingdom and return- 
ing. Jesus is the nobleman ; Heaven is the far country, 
and the Millennial Theocracy, the kingdom. Previous to 
His departure the Lord called His own servants; i. e., 
the Chrisitian^- ar^id delivers to eadh one of theni' a pound; 
(Greek mina VHV^ cts.) ; and commands them to trade, 
invest the money and make it as productive as possible 
till He comes. When He goes away His citizens); (i. e, 
the people of this wicked world), hasten and send an 
embassy after Him, notifying Him that they do not want 
Him to reign over them. In due time the nobleman re- 
turns, calls up all his servants, to whom he had delivered 
the money, and has an investigation to see what each 



Thrilling Events Facilitating the Finale. 247 

one has made by investment and traffic. He finds one 
of them has actually gained ten pounds; he blesses him, 
bids him hearty welcome to a place in the kingdom 
which He has brought with him^ and invests him with 
the dominion of ten cities. Another comes and notifies 
Him that his pound has gained five pounds. He blesses 
him precisely as the ten-pounder and gives him domin- 
ion over five cities in the kingdom which He has brought 
with Him from the country far away. And a third man 
comes and says to Him ; ^^Lord^ be^hold thy pound w^hich 
I have kept laid up in a napkin. For I feared thee 
because thou art an austere man; thou takest up that 
whi<chthou has not laiid downyand thou reapest that which 
thou hast not sown.^^ And He says to him; ^^Out of 
thine own mouth I oondtemn thee, thou wicked servant; 
thou knewest that I am an austere man, taking up that, 
which I have not laid down and reaping that which I 
have not sown ; wiieref ore didst thou not give my money 
to the bank, and having come, I would have received the 
same with the product?'^ And He said to those standing 
by, ^^take the pound from him and give it to the one hav- 
ing ten pounds.^^ And they said to Him ; ^^Lord, he has 
ten pounds.^^ For I say unto you that to everyone hav- 
ing, it shall be givenyand from, him not having, even that 
w^hich he hath shall be taken away from him. Moreover, 
bring hither these my enemies, who did not. wish me to 
reign over them an'd slay tihem in my presence.^^ The 
enemies here mentioned are the unsavable millions, this 
day so rapidly crossing the dead line, by committing the 
unpardonable sin ; i. e., imputing the works of the Holy 
Ghost to the devil, which is the fatal sin of the anti- 
holiness people, who pronounce all true, vital. Holy 



248 Life of Jesus and His Apostles, 

Ghost religion^ f ana'ticism ; i. e., impuited to the devil. 
One of the sure evidences of the Lord's near approach 
is the phenomenal manner in which the nominal church 
is rejecting the Holy Ghost by their opposition to His 
work, especially manifested in the holiness movement, 
and thus fast reaching an unsavable attitude, by com- 
mitting the unpardonable sin, which is the blasphemy; 
i. e., contempt of the Holy Ghost. Matt. 12 :31.32. This 
is the religious hemisphere of Satan^s kingdom, which is 
so fast ripening for destruction. The same was verified 
in Judaism, when the leading clergy, ruling elders, 
and (through their influence), the rank and file of their 
membership, actually so grieved away the Holy Spirit, 
that they could not be saved. Therefore an awful de- 
struction swept them away, during the Jewish tribula- 
.tion, A. D. 66-7. Meanwhile, the secular hemisphere of 
Satan^s kingdom is crossing the dead line in the direc- 
tion of infidelity, with fearful rapidity. These are "His 
citizens ;^^ i. e., the people of this world, who are ^unwill- 
ing to have Him rule over thern.^ They will perish in the 
great Gentile tribulation, destined soon, to fill the world 
with anarchy, (of which we have a prelude in the murder 
of our Pre'S)idient;) deluge it with blood and whiten it 
with bones. Dan. 7 :9-14 and Re-v. ch. 16 and ch. 19. The 
man who laid away his poun'd in a napkin and kept it, is 
the anti-holiness professor, who rejects the second work 
of grace, says, ^^conversion is enough, I will hold it fast 
till the Lord comes f stupidly oblivious of the fact that 
every Christian is like a bicycle ; whi>ch either moves for- 
ward or drops down. So you see this man turns out to 
be a hopeless backslider and loses his soul. The pound is 
taken from him and given to the ten-pounder. Why not 



Thrilling Events Facilitating the Finale. 249 

to the five-pounder ? Because the ten-pounder will make 
much more out of it for his Lord than the five-pounder. 
You see here forcibly stated, the great law of spiritual 
thrift, illustrated by the financial realm, in which the 
man who has the most money, can make money fastest. 
Even so in the spiritual kingdom; the person who has 
m.ost will accumulate more rapidly than all others. 
This parable is so clear, perspicuous and forcible, that 
all whose spiritual optics have been quickened by the 
Holy Ghost, will see it to their profitable edification; in- 
dubitaibly and irrefutably setting forth the return of Je- 
sus, on the throne of His Millennial Glory, when He will 
meet the saints, transfigure them, resurrecting the dead 
and translating the living: thus admitting them into 
His glorious kingdom, and administering to them re- 
wai^ds andi emiolument®, according to the efficiency with 
which each one has utilized the grace given and magni- 
fied the redeeming mercy of his Lord. 

JESUS ARRIVES AT BETHANY. 

John 11 :55-57; 13 :9.11. He spends the night with 
Zacchaeus at Jericho. The next day, our Sunday, He 
walks from Jericho to Bethany, about thirty miles, up 
the great mountain of Judah and Benjamin, most of the 
way through the wilderness of Judea, arriving at His 
delightful retreat, the home of Mary, Martha and Lazar- 
us, in Bethany, at nightfall. "And the Passover of the 
Jews was nigh, and many went up to Jerusalem from the 
country, that they might purify themselves. They sought 
therefore, for Jesus, saying to one another stand- 
ing in the Temple; what think ye? Tha.t He may not 



250 Life of Jesus and Bis Apostles. 

come to the feast ? The chief pri-e'sits and Pharisees had 
given eommandment, that if anyone knew where He 
was., he shoukl divulge it^ in order that they might 
arrest Him. Then Jesus came into Bethany six days 
"before the Passover^ where Lazarus was, w^hom 
He raised from^ the dead. When a great mul* 
titude of the Jews knew that He was there, they also 
came,; not only on aecount of Jesus, but that they might 
see Lazarus whom He raised from the dead. But the 
dhief priests counselled' that they would kill Lazarus be- 
cause many of the Jews, on account of him, came and 
were believing on Jesus. The reader makes inquire in 
his own mind, why the multitude waited till Jesus re- 
turned before they came to see Lazarus. This is ex- 
plained in the fact that Lazarus, when Jesus raised him 
from the dead, went away with Him, and accompanied 
Him in His evangelistic tour through Perea. The resur- 
rection of Lazarus., after he had* been dead' four days and 
putrefaction and decomposition had m^ade great head- 
way is conceded the greatest miracle upon record. 
This so exasperated the high priests and Pharisees that 
they determined to bring their troubles to a speedy issue 
by killing Him. 

TRIUMPHAL ENTRY. 

Having spent Sunday night in the home of Mary, 
Martha and Lazarus in Bethany, He sets out for Jerusa- 
lem Monday morndng, along the old C'aravan Road, used 
from the days of Abraham, directly over Mt. Olivet ; the 
nice, macadamized road now in use for carriages, run- 
ning around it. Bethphage stands on the mountain at 



Thrilling Events Facilitating the Finale, 251 

the entrance of the plain, having ascended the eastern 
slope. From this village Jesus sends out disciples with 
orders to bring Him a young donkey, unbroken^ follow- 
inig its mother, ^^hich they are directed to find at the 
cross road. They also bring the mother by way of conven- 
ience in managing the colt. The symbolism would 
not permit our Lord to ride the horse, w^hiob 
is ' the symbol of war w;hereas, the donkey, 
eminently useful in time of peace and too sflow 
for war, symbolizes the pacific missiion on which 
the Prince of Peace came into the world. When 
they arrive with the donkeys, they put their garments on 
the colt an'd mount Jesus on him, John 12 :14. "^^And 
Jesus having found a young donkey sat upon him, as has 
been written; ^^fear not, daughter of Zion; behold thy 
King cometh sitting upon the colt of a donkey.^^ As hu- 
man hands pollute, it was pertinent that the animal 
which Jesus rode should be unbroken. Now all of the 
evangelists certify how the multitudes cut down the 
branches of the trees and strewed the way with palm 
leaves and blooming flowers, w4iich then abounded 
(April 10), and threw down their garments in the road 
for Jesus to ride over them, thus symbolizing their loy- 
alty, for they believed that He would be crowned King of 
the Jews in Jerusalem, even before the opening of the 
Passover festival, the following Saturday. V. 13. They 
took the branches of the palm trees and came out to meet 
Him and continued to exclaim ; ^^Hosanna, blessed is he 
that cometh in the name of the Lord; the King of Israel V^ 
This triumphant entry was a brilliant scintillation of our 
Lord^s second eoming, when He will ride into Jerusalem, 



252 Life of Jesus and His Apostles. 

not on the donkey, but on the 'cloud. When He passed 
over the tableland on the summit of Olivet and reached 
the western slope, descending into the valley of Jehosha- 
phat, the whole multitude broke out into uproarious 
shouts, saluting Him as the Son and successor of King 
David; waving the palms in the air, which were recog- 
nized as oriental symbols of royalty. Luke 19 :39. ^^And 
certain ones from the crowd said to Him, "Teacher, re- 
buke thy disciples/^ And He, responding, said to them ; 
^'I say unto you, that if these may keep silent the rocks 
will cry out/^ 

Here we see that our Lord receives and appreciates 
the worship of praise. Shouting is all right, and accep- 
table worship; thus endeavoring by exclamations and 
ejaculations, with -adorirg wonder, to p-roclarm -and in- 
stall the m^ajesty of our King. "And when He drew near, 
He saw the city and wept over it, siaying, "If thou 
hadst indeed known, even in this thy day, the thing ap- 
pertaining to thy peace ! but now they are hidden from 
thine eyes. Because the day shall come upon thee and 
thine enemies will throw a bulwark and will close in 
around thee and press on thee from all sides, and they 
will slay thee and thy children with thee and will leave 
not stone upon stone in thee, because thou hast not 
known the time of thy visitation.^^ 

At the spot along this road where Jesus 
wept over the city, we have a most conspic- 
uous view of all Jerusalem. The Greek Christians have 
orected a beautiful, snow-white, memorial church, called 
'The Church of Jesus^ Weeping,^ which is -an impressive 
souvenir of this thrilling event in our Savior^s biography. 
He saw in vivid panorama the appalling horrors which 



Thrilling Events Facilitating the Finale. 253 

were coming on the city within one-third of a century, 
when the Eoman armies actually besieged, waged a sev- 
en years' war, desolated it, selling into slavery and lead- 
ing into captivity, all who survived the sword, pestilence 
and famine; leaving the most beautiful and strongly 
fortified city in the worlds without an inhabitant. Matt 
21 :10-17. 

Here we learn that the triumphal procession 
moved on dlown Mt. Olivet, crossed the valley of Jehosha- 
phat, over the groat Causeway, ascenided Mt. Moriah and^ 
entered the Holy Campus, comprising thirty-five acres of 
land, containing Solomon^s Temple and other magnifi- 
cent buildings, dedicated to Jehovah; but the 
greater portion of the area, entirely unincumbered with 
buildings, constituting the Holy Campus, on which the 
Israelites pitched their tents, during their great national 
festivals ;and all this is included in the word ^'^Temple,^^ 
as it occurs in the Xew Testament. Three thousand 
years have rolled away since John the Baptist introduced 
Jesus to the people and by his baptism inaugurated Him 
into His official Messiahship. During all these years 
the whole country has been agitated, with reference to 
this Paradoxical Man, really the wonder and the enigma 
of all students. Unfortunately, the leading clergy, soon 
turned againet him, rejecting Him with contempt; fos- 
tering bitter animosities and nourishing against Him 
the most virulent hatred, gangreno jealousy, and dia- 
bolical prejudice and envj^ hell could possibly manu- 
facture. Meanm^hile His friends have been constantly 
multiplyin^g in all the land, becoming bolder, stronger 
and more convinced that He is veritably the Christ. 

Already multitudes have been pouring into Jerusa- 



254 Life of Jesus and His Apostles. 

lem from all points of the compass^ to attend 
the Passover, wondering in their minds whether Jesus 
would be there. Then the triumphal proces- 
sion -entered the city and the Temple, amid shouts 
going up like the roar of the might}^ ocean. All classes 
were clamorous with acclamations of praise to their 
KJing. They regarded the donkey-ride as an acceptaDce 
of the situation, on His part,as David and Solomon rode 
on mnles when they were crowned'. Thousands gazed 
on the scene with electrified enthusiasm, expecting 
every moment to see Him crowned King of Israel. Mark 
11 :11. "And Jesus came into Jerusalem and into the 
Temple; and looking around upon all things, the hour 
being already evening, w^nt out into Bethany with the 
Twelve. You will find no record of His ever having 
lodged a night in Jerusalem. On this. His last visit. He 
lodges in Bethany Sunday night and Monday night and 
Wednesday night ;spending Tuesday night in some of the 
villages of Mt. Olivet ; Thursday night in Gethsemane 
and Jerusalem, in the hands of His enemies; Friday 
night and Saturday night in Joseph^s new tomb. 

THE FIG TREE. 

Mark 11 :12-19. On the following day, having come 
out from Bethany,He was hungr^^ Seeing a fig tree afar 
off having leaves He came, if haply He should find any- 
thing thereon., and having come to it he found nothing 
but leaves for it was not the time of figs. Jesus respond- 
ing said to it; ^^Let no one ever eat fruit from thee,'^ 
and His disciples heard Him. This incident simply ap- 
pertains to the humanity of our Lord, in which He was 



Thrilling Events Facilitating the Finale. 255 

like other people, sin excepted. The beautiful foliage 
of the tree indicated a liigii state of vitality and argued 
in favor of fruit bearing. It was too early in the year 
(April 11), for the fipr harvest. However there is a 
species of fig tree in that country which retains the fruit 
all winter and ripens in the spring. So this was pre- 
sumed to be a winter fig tree. We have ialready seen in 
other 'Scriptures that the fig tree emWematizes the Jew- 
ish people, who al tHat time were in a high state of pros- 
perity,both nationally and ecclesiastically ; as symbolized 
by the copious foliage of this tree, T^hile really they were 
spiritually dfead and destitute of the fruit of holiness. 
(Eomans 6 :22) The (suddfen and' h'opeless withering of 
the tree, whidi speedily followed the anathema pro- 
nounced by our Lord, vividly symbolizing the awful 
cafttigatory judgments, coming speedily on the Jewish 
people, during the invasions of the Eoman armies. 

CLEANSING OF THE TEMPLE. 

Miark 11 :15-18. - ^^And they ca»me into Jerusalem^ 
and Jesus, having come into the Temple, -began to cast 
out the buyers and the sellers and He overturned the 
•taibles of the m(oney-changers =and the seats of those sell- 
ing doves; and He did not permit that anyone should 
carry his vessel through the Temiple. And He was teach- 
ing, saying to them ; Is it not written. My house shall be 
called the house of prayer to all nations? but j^ou have 
made it a den of thieves.^^ And the scribes and chief 
priests heard and they were seeking how they should kill 
Him; for they feared Him because the whole multitude 
were delightd with His teadiing. Luke 31:37. And 



256 Life of Jesus and His Apostles. 

during the 'day He was teaching in tlie Temple, 
eyery night he went out and lodged in the Mount 
which is called that of Olives. And all the people were 
assembling unto Him in the Temple to hear Him. You 
remember He cleansed the Temple while attending the 
first Passover^ entering upon His Messianic office^ by 
that significant act^ which was the peculiar prerogative 
of the high priest alone. There was a great traffic in 
sacrificial animials^ which Jews^ coming from the ends 
of the earth, would purohta:se, in order to offer their 
sacrifices. The money exchange was also an important 
business, as none but Jewish coins were received in the 
Temple treasury; and the Jews from the ends of the 
earth attended these festivals, having Greek and Eoman 
money, which must be exchanged for the Hebrew coins. 
The reason why these dealers of the sacrificial animals 
and money exchange are called thieves, is because Jesus 
knew that they cheated the people. If you cheat a man 
out of a dollar, you are a condemned thief at the bar of 
God. These two cleansings of the Temple clearly prove 
the necessity of both regeneration and sanctification, so 
to cleanse the heart, which is symbolized by the Temple, 
that God will dwell in it forever. Our Lord is also go- 
ing to cleanse the Temple again when He comes in His 
glory ,thus illustrating the third work of the Holy Ghost 
in the heart ; i. e., glorification. The first work removes 
all condemnation; the second takes away depravity, 
while the third and last, which you receive in death, 
sweeps away all infirmity: investing you with angelic 
perfection ; Christian perfection having been received in 
sanctification. 



Thrilling Events Facilitating the Finale. '^b7. 

THE POWER OF FAITH. 



Mai'k 11 :20-26. ^^In the mominig, going along, they 
saw 'the fig tree had been withered np from its roots. Pe- 
ter, remembering, says to Him, E.abbi, behold the fig tree 
which }^ou execrated is withered away. Jesus answering, 
says to them. Have the faith of God. Verily I say Tinto 
you. Whosoever may say to this mountain, Be thou 
plucked up and cast into 'the sea, and m^ay not doubt 
in his heart, but believe that those things which he says 
do take place, it shall be so unto him. Whatsoever ye ask, 
praying, believe that you just now received them, and 
ye shall 'have them.^^ 

'This deliverance of our Lord on the sub- 
ject of prayer is a stunner to the weak faith of 
the church. It is so positive and elear that all efforts 
to explain it away have proved abortive in all ages. The 
plucking up of the tree and casting it into the sea, is a 
physical miracle^ illustrative of the paradtoical achieve- 
ments here imputed to omnipotent faith. The great sa- 
lient and culminating affirmation in verse 24, — ^^AU 
things whatsoever you ask, praying, believe that you just 
now received them, and they shall be unto you.^^ The R. 
V. says ^Tiave received them,^^ which is rather too strong, 
involving the liability to let go your grip and rest in the 
hypothesis that you already have the blessing you ask, 
and consequently desist from seeking, which might even- 
tuate in utter and final defeat. The E. V. ^TDclieve that 
you do receive them^^ involves the liability of keeping you 
fbrever in the present tense, and never reaching the fin- 
ished experie'n'ce. The pass'age is really difficult to trans- 
late, the true Greek being elaiete^ in the second a^rist 



258 . Life of Jesus and His Apostles, 

tense ; not an adequate of the aorist tens-e, wbidi is 
performed; hence I translated it "believe that you just 
now received/^ The E. V. "have received^^ is our perf est 
tense^ which is not an adequate of the aorist^ which is 
not in the English language. The fact is, we are to be- 
lieve that the answer conies contemporaneously with the 
petition. Therefore^ when we truly ask in faith, while 
we are asking, the Lord actually does it instantaneously 
and completely. 

HIS AUTHORITY QUESTIONED. 

V. 27 :33. Jesus gave himself tremiendtous notoriety by 
driving out all those buyers and sellers and money 
changers, who were not in the Temple building, but on 
the Holy Campus, all of which, including thirty-five 
acres, was denominated ^'^the Temple.-^^ In the ejectment 
of these people with their sacrificial animals and foreign 
money, He exercised the prerogative peculiar to the high 
priest only. Now you observe that He simply refers 
them to the baptism of John for His authority, illus- 
trating clearly that He received His priestly authority by 
the baptism of John. You see He here catches them 
in a dilemma from which they could not and did not 
extricate themselves. If they decided that John's bap- 
tism was not from God, they feared an uproar, as John 
was so very popular and looked upon by all the people 
as a prophet s-enit froan God; •consequently they were 
afraid that the m altitude would stone them. If they 
said it was from God, they knew He would respond, 
^^Then why did you not believe on Him'' ; consequently 
they simply answered;, "We know not.'^ 



Thrilling Events Facilitating the Finale. 259 

THE TWO SONS. 

Matt. 21:28. ''But what think ye? A imaii' had 
two sons; comdng to the first he said^ S'on, go to-d'ay, 
work in the vineyard. And he responding said, I am not 
willing, and afterward repenting, he departed. And hav- 
ing come to the second he said likewise. He, responding 
said, aye, Lord; and he went not. Whioh one of the two 
did the will of the father? They say to him, The first. 
Jesus said to them, Truly I say unto you, that the Pub- 
licans and Harlots go before you into the kingdom of 
God. For John came to you in the way of righteousness 
and you believed him not ; but the Publicans and Har- 
lots believed him, but you seeing, repented not afterward, 
in or'd'er to believe himi^ 

In this parable the Gentiles are the first to 
sin^ as God called them' two thousand years be- 
fore He called the Jews. They refused from the start, 
proving delinquent. When He called the Jews they said, 
''AU-rightywe go, but afterward proved unfaithful ; while 
the Gentiles received the gospel, and after a refusal of 
four thousand years, went and did nobly. Here we see, 
while looking these leading preachers and church officials 
in the face.He says the Publicansand Harlots go into the 
kingdom of God before you; i. e., they are more easily 
saved than you are. This is everywhere illustrated this 
day in our evangelistic work. Slumites are more easily 
reached than the proud formalists occupying the prom- 
inent places in the church. 

THE WICKED HUSBANDMEN". 

Matt. V. 33-41. The vineyard'here is the ciiurch,and' iihe 



260 Life of Jesus and His Apostles 

Jews, to whom God committed it^ the husbandmen. They 
stoned the prophets^ cut off the head of John the Bap- 
tist, and crucified God^s own Son. The result was, God 
vindicated His church, His prophets, and His Son by 
sending on them the awful retribution of the Eoman 
armies, who desolated their land and destroyed their city, 
slew their people and sold them into slavery, actually an- 
nihilating the Jewish policy forever. 

43. "Therefore, I say unto you, that the kingdom of 
God shall be taken from you and given- to a nation,bring- 
ing forth the fruts of the same/^ This is la demiomstrative 
truth of the identity of God^s church in all dispensations, 
as "kingdom^^ here can mean nothing but the church, 
which was taken from the Jews and given to the Gentiles. 
The vineyard was not destroyed, but the wicked husband- 
men were slain, in divine retribution, under the perfect 
administration of God, for the awful crime of killing 
His servants and son. 

42. "Jesus says to them, Have you never 5«ead in 
the ■ Scriptures, The stone whidh the builders rejected, 
the same has become the head of the -corner ? And 
the one falling on this stone shall be dashed to pieces; 
and on whomsoever it may fall it will grind him to 
powder.^^ The great oriental stone buildings are sup- 
ported by towers, which hold them steadfast amid 
all perturbation. The chief corner-stone (i. e., the head 
of the corner) supports this tower. Here He affirms 
that every one falling en this tower shall be dashed to 
pieces; i. e., every sinner in the agony of conviction, fall, 
ing on Jesus, will be broken all to pieces and reconstruct- 
ed into a new creature; thus gloriously saved. While 
every one on whom this tower may fall, it will grind him 



Tlirilling Events Facilitating the Finale. 261 

to powder : i. e., the sinner who will not have His mercy 
is compelled to receive His justice, the horrific retribu- 
tion of eternal destruction. 

MARRIAGE OF THE KING's SON. 

Matt. 22 :1-14. Heaven is described in the Bible as 
a wed'ding festival in perfect blisis and ineffable glory, 
moving on forever. Hence this wedding festival began 
with Abel -and will sweep on till the latest posterity of 
Adam^s race shall have a chance to respond to the invita- 
tion and sit down with the royal guests. ^'^He sent his 
servants to call those who had been invited to the wed- 
ding, and they were not willing to come.^^ The old 
prophets had been inviting them in all ages. Eventually 
the grand culmination supervenes and He sends His Son 
into the world to enter into wedlock with His blood- 
washed bride. Again he sent other servants, saying, 
^Tell those who have been called,,Behold\,I have prepared 
my dinner; my -oxen and my fatlings have been slaugh- 
tered, all things 'are ready; eome ye to the wedding.*' 
Now He sent John the Baptist and the apostles to ex- 
tend them an especial invitation. ^"^And they, being care- 
less, went away ; one to his farm, and one to his mer- 
chandise. The rest taking his servants, insulted and 
slew them.'^ They slew John the Baptist but a short time 
before this utterance ; Jesus Himself, only two d'ays' af- 
terward, and Stephen and many others at a very early 
date. ^^The king, hearing, was angry, and sending his 
armies, slew tho&e murderers and burned up their city/^ 
This awful prediction was utterly fulfilled in the terrible 
retributions inflicted on those very people and their city 



262 Life of Jesus and His Avostles, 

by the Roman armies within the lifetime of that genera- 
tion. ^^Then he says to his servants^ Indeed the wedding 
is ready^ but those having been invited were not worthy. 
Go, therefore, into the crossings of the hig^hways, and ^o 
many as you may find, call to the wedding. And those 
servants having gone out into the ways, continued to lead 
in so many as they found, both bad and good, and the 
wedding was filled with guests/^ 

This is the call to th'e Gentiles, verifying 
the great ciomanission to preach the gospel 
to every nation, giving all a chance. We see here 
there is no difference between the bad and the good ; i. e., 
the immoral and wicked^ reprobate and debauched, and 
also, the morally good having even an irrepreacbable 
character in 'the estimation of the world. All are sinners 
by nature and forever lost, unless they fly to Jesus and lay 
hold on the infallible atonement, which is made for the 
sins of the whole world. He goes on, observing that the 
king comes in to look upon his guests, and finding one 
without the wedding garment, he at once accosts him, 
asking liim. Friend; why comiest thou in liither without 
the wedding garment ? Finding him doumbf ounded and 
utterly unable to give a reason for 'this, he ordered his ser- 
vantto bind himhand andfoot and cast him out into out- 
er darkness, where there shall be weeping and wailing and 
gnashing of teeth. The wedding garmient which seems so 
indispensable, an actual sine qua non to a place in heav- 
en, is none other than the blood-washed robe, which 
Jesus alone can give. You see this man, dumib with- 
out it, is forcibly illustrabed in the noisy clamor of sancti* 
fied people, and the observable dumbness of the unsanc- 
tified, the former always glad of a chance to tell of the 



Thrilling Events Facilitating the Finale, 263 

wonders of the cleansing blood and exhibit the spotless 
snow-white robes which they wear^ while the latter re- 
mained comparatively reticent in our testimony meet- 
ings. 



^& 



CHAPTER XI. 

FAREWELL TO THE TEMPLE. 

The Holy Campus^ including thirty-five acres of land 
containing the Temple of King Solomon and many other 
m)agnaficent buildingsi andi a camping ground' for the myr- 
iads of Israel^ during th<dr great national festivals^ was 
sacred to the people of Israel; all Gentiles rigidly pro- 
hibited therefrom^ entering it on p'enalty of deaths was, 
through all ages.^ to the children of Abraham^ an earthly 
paradise, the symbol of Heaven. Here Jesus began His 
ministry by cleansing the Temple, and now finishes it 
by a second cleansing, confirmed by His strong and con- 
tinuous preaching those three days, Monday, Tuesday 
and Wednesday. 

TRIBUTE TO CAESAR. 

Now the Pharisees and Herodians suspend their no- 
torious and irreconcilable antagonism, the former, being 
the most loyal and zealous supporters of the Mosaic in- 
stitutions, and the most rigid devotees of the Theocracy, 
and the rankest enemies to the Eoman government ; and 
the latter, the Eoman political party, not only support- 
ing, but administering the Eomian government. Like the 
warring sects now-a-days,dropping their controversies to 
unite all their forces against the holiness movement, so 
the Pharisees and Herodians (1. e., dead religion and 
politics) unite against Jesus. They lay all their wits 

264 



Farewell to the Temple, 265 

under contribution and concoct a scheme with the two 
horns of a dilemma^ feeling sure they will gore Him with 
one or the other. They proceed to interview Him in ref- 
erence to paying tribute to Caesar. If He answers in 
the aflfirmative^ the Pharisees are ready to arrest and 
bring Him before the Sanhedrim for disloyalty to the 
theocracy. If He answers in the negative^, the Herodians 
are ready to -arrest and arraign Him before Pilate, un- 
der charge of disloyalty to the Eoman government. They 
feel perfectly sanguine of success^ apprehending no pos- 
sible escape from the entanglement into which they are 
driving Him. How they are dumbfounded when He 
simply responds, ^"^Eender unto C^sar the things which 
are Caesuras, -and unto God the things which are God^s.^^ 
Mark 12:13-17. 

THE RESURRECTION. 

Matt. V. 18-27. Now tiiat He has so signally dumb- 
founded -the leading orthddox denomination and the most 
influential political party^, .the Sadd'ucees^ notorious for 
their heterodoxical views of spirituality anid-the resurrec- 
tion, proceed to attack Him with <a puzzle which they 
have 'Concocted and belieyeto be utterly incompatible with 
the problem of the resurrection of the dead. They now 
present their enigma : ^^There were seven brothers among 
us; one of them married a woman and died; the sec- 
ond brother then married her and died; and so the 
third, fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh, the woman sur- 
viving them all. Now tell us^ in the resurrection^ whose 
wife &hall she be, for they all had her?'' (Luke 20:34). 
Jesus responds, ^^The sons of this age marry and are 



266 Life of Jesus and His Apostles. 

given in carriage, but those being counted worthy to 
reach that age and the re'suTrection;, neither m'arry, nor 
are they given in marriage, for they are not able yet to 
die ; for they are like the angels, and they are the san<s 
of God, being the sons of the' resurrection.' 

He now alludes to the burning bush, when God said to 
Moses, '^'^I am the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jaoob/^ Je- 
sus m<akes this argument in favorof the resurrection, ob- 
serving that He is not the God of the dead, but of the 
living ; as in the divine estimation, Abraham, Isaac and 
Jacob were all living at the time God spoke to Moses 
out of the burning bush. Man is a trinity, consisting of 
spirit, mind and body. Therefore God looks upon him 
in his integrity, the body being really immortal like the 
soul, death being only a sleep. 

SEXHOOD PECULIAR TO MORTALITY. 

We see from our Lord's exegesis of the resurrection, 
that the matrimonial state is not there continued; it is 
simply peculiar to this life, having in view the propaga- 
tion and pefpetuity of the species. In Him there is 
neither male nor female (Gal. 3 :26). As above quoted, 
in the resurrection we are like the angels, with whom 
there is no such thing as sexhood. In the resurrection 
the body is transfigured and glorified and spiritualized, 
so that we are like the angels who have no mortal bodies, 

THE TWO GREAT COMMANDMENTS. 

Mark 13 :28-34. Jesus is here interviewed by a cer- 
tain theologian, asking Him, "What is the great com- 



Farewell to the Temple. ' 267 

manidaiieiit in the law? And Jesus said to him^ Thou 
shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy hearty with all 
thy &onl and with all thy mind. This is the first and 
great commandment. The second is like unto it, Thou 
shalt love thy neighbor as thyself .^^ On these two com- 
mandments hang all the law and the prophets. Much 
fanaticism and delusion have always prevailed on keep- 
ing the commandments, leading people into dead ritual- 
ism and dry legalism. Here you see the full solution of 
the whole problem ; Vdivl ieW^ it multum in paw o (Eom» 
13 :10), ^^Love is the fulfilling of the law.^^ Hence you 
see Jesus and Paul settle the question, that the com- 
mandonents are all focalized into one, and that is, love. 
Then, away with legalism, with all its forms and p^hases 
and boasted pretension ! Love, not only includes all the 
commandments, but everything required by the law and 
the prophets. Therefore, if you have the divine love of 
regeneration and the perfect love otf sanctification, you 
r^lly have it all. This divine love is the very essence 
and quintessence, sum and substance of Holy Ghost re- 
ligion. With it you are all-ri^ht, and without it you are 
all wrong. It is not indigenous in fallen humaniiy, 
but exotic, ^^poured out into the heart by the Holy Ghost, 
who is given unto us^^ (Eom. 5 :5). 

ENIGMA OF THE CHRISTHOOD. 

V:35-37. Here Jesus interrogates them how Ohri&t i» 
Bavid^s Lord and his Son. In their ignorance of the 
two natures in the Christhood (i. e., the divinity, which 
is the eternal God, verily David^s Lord; and the hu- 
manity, which is really the lineal posterity of David), 
tliey are puzzled and hopelessly entangled. 



268 Life of Jesus and His Apostles. 

MINISTERIAL AMBITION AND TYRANNY. 

Matt. 23 :1-12. ^'Then Jesus spoke to the multitudes 
and) His disciples, saying, The Scribes and Phaj^iseesi sit 
in the seat of Moses; therefore, all things whatsoever 
they command to observe, do you observe and perform, 
but do not according to their work, for they say, and do 
not. For they bind burdens heavy and difficult to be 
borne and place them on the shoulders- of the people; 
but they do not wish to touch them with their finger/^ 
History repeats itself over and over as the ages roll on. 
This day there is a cry of oppression going up to God 
The clergy in all lands laying heavy assesisiments on the 
people, in w'hich they themselves do not participate, but 
live in affluence, like prince's of the earth, and so unlike 
fhe penniless followers of the lowly KTazarene. "But they 
do all their works to be seen by the people. They broad- 
en their phylacteries and enlarge the borders of their 
garments.^^ They love the first couch in the 
feasts, the first seats in the synagogues, and 
salutation in the forums, and to be called by the 
people, /^DootoT, Doctor.'^ "Be not called D'O'ctor, for one 
is your Teacher, even Christ; and you are all brothers. 
Call no one your father upon the earth, for one is your 
Father, who is in heaven.'' Here our Savior utterly 
sweeps all ministerial ambition from the field of gospel 
privilege and activity, condemning the Protestant doc- 
torate and tJhe Eoman Catholic fatherhood, outright and 
indiscriminately ; recognizing and affirming the common 
brotherhood of God's universal family. 



Farewell to the Temple. 369 

Brethren! all who disagree, 
That shiouldj hare charity to please ms; 
Union there cannot be, 
Unless that we be one in Jesus. 
One as He is one in God; 
In spirit and in disposition. 
• This the Holy Scriptures teach ; 
^Tis plain without an exposition. 
Ambition and tyranny dominate over the clergy this day, 
as in by-gone ages; like avenging specters, disseminat- 
ing trouble and sorrow, cavil and confusion, and espe- 
cially in opposition to holiness, ever5^i*\^'ere in their wake. 

WOES PRONOUNCED ON THE SCRIBES AND PHARISEES. 

V:13. ^"^Woe unto you scribes and Pharisees, h3rpo- 
critC'S ! because j^ou shut the kingdo'm of heaven against 
the people, for you do not enter in, neither do you permit 
those coming in to enter/^ If the leading clergy had re- 
ceived Christ and His gospel under the preaching of 
John the Baptist, the rank and file of the Jewdsh cfhurch 
would have followed like sheep, responsive to the shep- 
herd^s voice. The same is true today; if the leading 
preachers of different denomdnations would receive 
the holiness movement, which is Christ in the abstract, 
the members would follow by millions, shake the earth 
by the tread of Zion^s 'conquering host; move on,girdling 
the globe with salvation and holiness to the Lord, thus 
exp-editing the coming of our King. You see here, that 
the preachers actually held the key to the kingdom of 
heaven; i. e., to the Lord^s great salvation. They are 
the custodians of the precious word of gospel grace j 



270 Life of Jesus and His Apostles. 

they can preach it 'Vith the Holy Ghost from heaven^' 
and lead millions into the kingdom, or explain it away 
or otherwise destroy its force, and thus let the people 
drop through their fingers into hell. 

THE ALTAR SANCTIFIETH THE GIFT. 

Matt. V. :19. Christ is the alitar. Heh. 13 :10.-When w 
consecrate all to Him, known' and unknown, present, past 
an(i future, for time and eternity, then we have nothing 
to do but simply believe this wonderful assertion;, that 
the altar sanctifies the gift. When thus fully conse- 
crated, you are the gift ; therefore, it sanctifies you. 

THE WOES ON THE SCRIBES AND PHARISEES. 

Matt. V:23. "Woe unto you scribes and Pharisees, 
hypocrites ! because you tithe mint and cinnamon, and 
you have passed by the weightier matters of the law; of 
mercy, judigm'eait and faith. It behooveth you ^to do these, 
and not to omit those.^^ The Jews paid their tithes in 
kind, extending thereto everything they produced, even 
garden vegetables and all sorts of fruits. While Jesus 
commends the verificfation of the tithe law in every rami- 
fication, He terrifically anathemaitizes them for Neglect- 
ing the weightier miatters of the law ; i. e., judlgment, in- 
cluding the whole problem of justification, doctrinal, ex- 
perimental and practical ; including the pardon of actual 
transgression, acquitted from all the claims of the viola- 
ted law, which supervenes in entire sanctificiation ; and 
the final and' eternal absolution of the gdflt for sin; actual 
land original, before the final judgment bar. 

Mercy is the normal fruit of love, which the law of 



Farewell to the Temple. 271 

•the Lord constants demardis^ exhi'bitory of that deep, 
abiding and amdabl-G^ grace dispensed by ithe Holy Ghost 
to all faithful and obedient souls; while the beautiful 
grace of faith actually underlies the entire superstruc- 
ture of the nmv creation. 

V :24. "Ye blind gui'des^ straining out the gnat, but 
swallowing the oamel/^ Here our Savior sets forth 
the glaring inconsistency of the leading preachers and 
church rulers in His day^ magnifyimg externals; (i.e., 
ceremonial purity) and minifying internals; i. e., the 
deep spirituality of the redemptive economy. The gnat 
and the camel are both unclean animals^ the former the 
smallest, and the latter the largest in that country. The 
poor, blind, religious guides, both -clerioal and laical, were 
so punctilious in the ■o'beerv'anoe of the law appertaining 
to clean and unclean, that they w^ere very particular to 
strain the wine and milk which they drank, lest there 
might be a gnat somewhere in it. Then what is the 
meaning of swallowing dowii the camel? Why, the 
camel is the largest animal in all that country, and un- 
clean, according to the law of Moses, and here, emblem- 
atizing the awful wickedness of those people, amid all 
the religious zeal. While they are particular about 
things w^hich are of no value (i. e., like swallowing the 
gn-ait, which would not hurt them) , yet they are so lax and 
delinquent in reference to the real essential of salva- 
tion, that they are going down to hell and leading the 
people with them. To swallow a camel would be cer- 
tain and irretrievable destruction; i. e., death and dam- 
nation. We find this same glaring inconsistency preva- 
lent this day; i. e., the prominent church leaders ex- 
ceedingly punctilious and imperative about non-es'seii- 



272 Life of Jesus and His Apostles. 

tials^ while they neglect the great subject of experimental 
and practical holiness^ forgetting that Grod says, ^^With- 
out holiness no man shall see the Lord^^ (Heb. 12:14). 

Matt. V. 27. "Woe unto you scribes and Pharisees, 
hypocrites ! because you are like whitened sepulchres 
which are indeed beautiful without, but within they are 
full of dead men's bones and all impurity. Even as you 
also appear to men^ without, indeed righteous, 
but within you are full of hypocrisy and 
iniquity.^' What awful preachiing to the lead- 
ing preachers and ruling elders of the church ! You say 
that is not the state of things now. Beware that you do 
not mistake. Humanity, the devil, sin, the world, law, 
truth and God; and, we may r.lso add, Satan, are uni- 
form in all ages. The Bible is our looking-glass, in 
which we tsee men, angels and devils as they really are. 

29. "Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypo- 
crites ! b'eciause you build the tombs of the fathers and or- 
nament the sepulchres of the righteous, and yon say, If 
w^e were in the day of our fathers we would not be par- 
takers with them in the blood of the prophets. So you 
testify to yourselves that you are the sons of those who 
murdered the prophets, and you fulfill the measure of 
your fathers. Ye serpents, generations of vipers, now 
can you escape from the damnation of hell ?'' This aw- 
ful preaching in the faces of the leading clergy and laity 
of the proud, popular church, enraged them into parox- 
ysms of animosity, till they literally thirsted for His 
blood. Thus He beards the lion in his den, despite his 
roaring and gnashing his teeth, making them so awfully 
mad that they never rested until they saw Him nailed to 
tihe cruel cross. 



Fareivell to the Temple. 273 

^^Therefore, behold, I send' umto you prophets, 
wise men and* scribes; some of them you will kill and 
crucify and scourge in your synagogues and persecute 
from city to city; in order that all the righteous blood 
shed upon the earth, from the blood of the righteous 
Abel unto the blood of Zacharias, the ison of the blessed. 
(Xot Barachias, as in E. V. Barachias is a Hebrew 
word which means blessed. Zacharias was not the son 
of a man by the name of Barachias, but he was the son 
of Jehoiadab, the priest who was a true, godly man, and 
hence called "blessed,^^ 2 Chron. 2-i:22) whom you slew 
between the temple and the altar. Yerily I say unto you, 
all these things shall come upon this generation. 

This was awfully verified in the destruction of Jeru- 
salem; during w^hich, those very priests and ruling eld- 
ers, to whom' He preached this awful sermon, perished 
most miserably by sword, pestilence and faanine, V. 37. 
Oh, Jerusalem ! Jerusalem ! thou that slayest the proph- 
ets and stonest them that were sent imto thee ! how fre- 
quently would I have gathered thy children together in 
the manner in which a hen gathereth her brood under 
her wings and ye were not willing! Never, in all the 
ages since creation^s dawn, did people enjoy privileges so 
ample, wonderful and heavenly as those very Jerusalem- 
ites. If they had received their own Christ with appre- 
ciative hearts. He would not only have filled them with 
Heaven on Earth, but have honored them^ above all the 
people in the who'le world; miaking them the heralds of 
the heavenly kingdom, to the ends of the earth. 
All this and infinitely more thian we can 
think or imagine, did they forfeit by rejecting Christ. 
V. 38. Behold, your house is left unto you desolate. 



274 Life of Jesus and His Apostles. 

A. D. Q>&, Gallus Celcius^the Eoman general, laid siege 
to Jerusalem, followed in A. D. 68 by the Emperor Ves- 
pasian, who was succeeded hy his son Titus in A. D. TOj 
'who prosecuted the war to its awful end in A. D. 
73, not only desolating, but depopulating the land; a 
million of Jews perishing by sword, pestilence and fam- 
ine ; a million more sold into slavery, till the miarkot was 
glutted with all nations and no one would bury them. 
Finally the surviving remnant, and mighty host were led 
captive to Eome and committed to imperial servitude 
and used to build the great coliseum, the largest build^ 
ing in the world, 1,800 feet in circumference, and 160 
feet high, solid stone wall up to the eave; — ^the grand 
Imiperial Theatre. ^Tor I say unito you, you can see me 
no more, until you can say. Blessed is he that cometh in 
the name of the Lord/^ 

Two years ago I was in that country and was in- 
formed by good authority, that there were fifty-five 
thousand Jews in Jerustalem alone, and two hundred 
thousand in Palestine. When I was there in 1895, there 
were only one hundred thousand in all the land. Ten 
years previously there -were only ten thousand; while in 
1874 there were only five thousand. The wondierful stir 
which the Zionist as now making among the children of 
Abraham in every eountry under heaven, having for their 
object the recovery of the Holy Land, is, in connection 
with the rapid and abundant immigration, pouring in 
from every country under heaven, exceedingly ominous 
of the Lord^s speedy return to the earth. I trow when 
He comes to take up His bride, He will so reveal Himself 
to His consanguinity, as to awaken a wonderful convie* 
tion among the Jews, especially those gathered in the 



Farewell to the Temple, 275 

Holy Land, Zacharias^ the prophet^ says two parts; i. e., 
■two-thirds of those gathered in Palestine^ will be cut ojS 
during the tribulation; thus eliminating the unsavable 
element; meanwhile^ the elect third,, Eom. 11, will get 
saved, sanctified, and so filled with the Spirit, that they 
will enjoy the immortal honor, verifying this prophecy of 
our wonderful Chri&t; i. e., meeting Him with a shout; 
saluting Him, ^^Beloved, brother Jesus, Shiloh of pro- 
phecy, Eedeemer of Israel, Messiah of God and Savior of 
the world V^ thus crowning Him King of Israel in the 
succession of their father, David. Thus the Lord wound 
up His ministry in the Temple where He preached so 
much and wrought so many miracles. 

THE WIDOW^S MITE. 

Mark 12 :-il-44. Having spent these three days 
preaching to the vast multitudes assembled on the Holy 
Campus in front of Solomson^s Temple, and finished his 
work there, bidding them adieu ; thrilling them' with the 
prophecy, that when He comes again they will receive 
Him; i. e., the same Jewish people, after the ingress 
and egress of m^any generations. Walking out, halting in 
front of the treasurj^ -office and seeing many rich people 
throwing in their exuberant contributions, a poor widow 
comes along and throws in two mites (i. e., 3-4 cts.), the 
full am'ount of her estate. Jesus, in the exercise of His 
ommscience, recognizes her great liberality in giving all 
she had and pronounces on her the highest encomium; 
certifying that she >has cast in more than all the balance. 
We m'ust remember God is not poor. He says, '^li I were 
iiungry I would not tell you. The cattle upion a thous- 



276 Life of Jesus and His Apostles. 

and) hills are mine/^ So go away with your strawberry 
festivals and ice-cream suppers. They are an insult to 
God. 

THE WISE MEN OF THE WEST COME TO SEE JESUS. 

John 12 :20. ^^And' 'there were certain Greeks among 
those that went up to worship during the feast When 
they came to Philip, who was from Bethsaidai and asked 
him saying, Sir, we would see Jesus. Philip cometh and 
'telleth Andrew, and they tell Jesus.^^ When He was 
born in Bethlehem, the wise men of the East came, ac- 
knowledged and worshipped Him. Thirty-three years 
have rolled away. The time of His departure has ar- 
rived. Here we see that the wise men of the West rep- 
resenting Europe and America; as those of the East, 
represented Asia and Africa, have come to salute, hear, 
acknowledge and' worship Him' as He is winding up 
His work and bidding the world adieu. These Greeks 
were proselytes of the gate, being Gentiles and not hav- 
ing passed through the regular proselytic modus operant 
di, necessary to change them from Gentiles into Jews. 
As it was a penalty of death for a Gentile to put his foot 
inside of the Holy Campus, they often came during the 
great feasts, (i. e., camp-meetings), and worshipped 
without the gate. There are only two gates througk 
which we can now enter the campus, the west gate and 
the north gate, the Beautiful Gate entering the east, in 
use at that time, is now closed and has been 1260 years, 
ever since the Mohammedans conquered the country and 
captured Jerusalem ; in consequence of a Moslem proph- 
ecy, that their power will fall at Jerusalem the very hour 



Farewell to the Temple. 277 

that gate is opened. These Greeks had come to the gate 
to worship, during fthe Passover. A beautiful and con- 
dolatory truth is evolved in the coming of the wise men 
of the East, at the beginning of our Savior's earthly life, 
and the wise men of the West at the elose, omens of the 
inspiring prophecy that He is to girdle the world in His 
arms, and His glory shall cover the earth as the waters 
cover the sea. V. 23. Jesus responded to them saying; 
^^The hour has come that the Son of man may be glo- 
rified. Truly, itruly, I say unto you, except a grain of 
wheat fall into the ground and die, it remaineth alone; 
hut if it die, it produ'ceth much fruit." 

This truth enuniciated in our Lord-'-s sermon 
to the Greeks is at onee deep and comprehensive. They 
were the most learned people in the world. So this pro- 
found preaching was well adapted to them. This fact 
in agriculture is patent to every farmer. When the wheat 
is 'Sowed, if rain does not come sufficient to rot the grain, 
the crop will be a failure. It will sprout, but soon die; 
the last hope of breads evanescing forever. The starch 
constituting the bulk of the grain is transformed into 
sugar, when there is sufficient moisture to decompose, 
i. e., rot the grain. When it first germinates, the young 
sprout is too delicate to appropriate its living from the 
soil. Consequently it is dependent on the starch in the 
grain, fer decomposition and the. 'development of sugar 
to nourish it till the spongioles reach down and absorb 
nutriment from the soil. This truth beautifully eluci- 
dates the gracious economy. In regeneration, the new 
life is germinated in the heart. Then if the old body 
of sin does not die, 1. e., sanctification does not super- 
vene, the new life wUI evanesce. When Samp-son slew 



278 Life of Jesus and His Apostles. 

the lion, he soon found the carcass full of honey and 
he went along eating it. So the young convert needs 
honey to eat. If he does not get it he starves to death. 
Oh, the wreck and ruin of souls in the popular churches 
at this point! They get converted and do not get sanc- 
tified. Con'sequently they backslide. V. 25. "He that 
loveth his soul shall lose it, but he that hateth his soul 
in this world shall preserve it unto eternal life.^^ The 
sinner has but one soul, and that is a bad one. The 
sanctified man has but one soul and that is a good one. 
The unsanctified Christian is James' double soul 
(Gr., E. v., diouble-minded) man. In regeneration this 
bad soul with which we were born, i. e., the carnal 
mind; is conquered, and graee given -to keep it diowiu 
In sanctifioation the old soul (i. e., the carnal mind) is 
taken away, leaving the new soul (i. e., the mind of 
Christ) "monarch of all He survey s,^^ and His rights dis- 
puted by none. 

While Jesus was preaohing this beautiful 
truth at the gate, a voice like thunder came from 
Heaven saying, "I glorified thee and will glorify thee 
again.^^ Jesus left his glory to come down, suffer and 
die. When He returned to Seaven He received it again. 

THE MAGNETISM OF CHRIST. 

31. "ISTow is the judgment of this world; now the 
Prince of this world shall be cast out, and if I may be 
lifted up from the earth, I will draw all people toward 
myself.'^ The vicarious sufferings and d^eath of Christ, 
really perfected the plan of salvation, satisfying the 
violated law, utterly removing the necessity for the dam- 



Farewell to the Temple. 279 

nation of any, eternally blockading the gates of hell from 
all penitent, believing souls, and throwing wide the por- 
tals of Heaven to every resiponsive, appreciative heart. 
Consequently it utterly defeated the devil and cast him 
out, after a reign of four thousand years over the world, 
almost without a rival. His ejectment began at Calvary, 
and has been going on ever since, to be finally consum- 
mated when the Lord comes in His glory, arrests him 
and takes him out of the world. 

The crucifixion of Christ is a great and universal 
magnet, drawing every human soul. This is the grand, 
salient truth superscribed on the gospel banner of free 
grace and dying love for every human being in the world. 
H^nce it is the battle cry of every gospel meeting.. While 
this is true and sweetly, gloriously and trium-phantly 
eons'ofetory, yet we must not dwarf the gospel by mak- 
ing it one sided. God saves no man till he wants to be 
saved. Salvation means the utter destruction and eternal 
damnation of all sin and the desire for purity, paramount 
to every other. You see I do not give the E. V. transla- 
tion of this passage, ^Vill draw all men to me.^^ The 
word translated '^^to^^ is pros, the first meaning of which 
is to'ward. The rule of translation is, to use the first 
meanings if it is in harmony with the context. 

While Jesus is the great Magnet of a dying world, 
wielding a wonderful drawing power^ yet He draws no 
one to Him, but only toward Him. If the human will 
reciprooate's the drawinlg, the soul will soon meet Him 
and get saved. If he is not willing to fors'ake all sin, 
abandon himself unreservedly and eternally tO' Go'd., he 
will go down to hell despite all the magnetism of Cal- 
vary. He winds up His sermon to his Greek audience by 



280 Life of Jesus and His Apostles. 

same beautiful allusions to the fact that He Is the Light 
of the world, and all His true followers, the sons of 
the Light. V. 36. Jesus spoke these things, and having 
gone away was hidden from them. This is Wednesday 
and early in the afternoon. The next two days are un- 
derstood from time immemorial, as the preparation for 
the Passover, the greatest of all Jewish festivals. An 
extraordinary enthusiasm has invaded all Israel and 
much of the Gentile world, focalizing in this Passover, 
accompanied by the anticipation on the part of many, 
that He will certainly be crowned King of the Jews. 
The multitudes who shouted Him* Veloome^ on the pre- 
ceding Monday as He rode into Jerusalem on the donkey, 
had! w^aitedl these three days, spellbound^ by His wonder- 
ful preaching, and in constant anticipation of an oppor- 
tunity to crown Him. King. Consequently, He finds it 
necessary to rid Himself of this eagerly waiting throng, 
as frequently, hitherto referred to, by rendering Himself 
invisible. 

JUDICIAL BLINDNESS OF THE JEWS. 

37-41. He having done so many miracles in their 
presence, yet they were not believing on Him, in order 
that the word of Isaiah, the prophet, may be fulfilled, 
which he spoke, "Lord, who hath believed our report and 
to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed? Wherefore 
were they not able to believe ? Because Isaiah said, they 
have blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts, in 
order that they may not see with their eyes and under- 
stand with their heart, and turn and I may heal them.^^ 

This illustrates the fact, that when we reject light 



Farewell to the Temple. 281 

and prefer darkness^ God takes it away, leaving us to the 
darkness of sin andl folly. The Jews had a vastly more 
terrible responsibility than Sodom and Gomorrah, or 
Tyre and Sidon, which were destroyed for their wicked- 
ness. That is the reason why it w^as actu'ally necessary 
to destroy the Jew; they had sinned against light so 
bright and knowledge so glorious, that they were past 
redemption. The antediluvian rejected- God the Father 
and perished in the flood; the Jews, God the Son, and 
were destroyed by the Eom-ans; while pursuant to the 
predictions of Jesus and other prophets, and other tes- 
taments, a similar and awful punishment is coming on 
the Gentiles for rejecting the Holy Ghost. To our sor- 
row, we see it moving apace. 

WHY THE RULERS DID NOT PROFESS HIM. 

V. 42. ^^Moreover, indeed, many of the rulers also be- 
lieved on Him, but they were not confessing Him on ac- 
count of the Pharisees, in order that they might not be 
put out of the synagogues; for they loved the glory of 
men more than the glory of God.^^ How signally do we 
this day see a repetition of this sad history ! Multitudes 
of church leaders in the different denominations are now 
believing in sanctifieation by second work of grace, as 
taught in the movement, and would gladly seek, find and 
profess their experience, if they were not afraid of trou- 
ble with their churches, depreciation, financial retribu- 
t.or and actual ejectment. 

A prominent presiding elder in Texas, whom 
I well know, took a sanctified preacher — a pastor in 
his district — ^^away into the woods in his buggy and 
had him pray for his sanctifieation till one p. m. Then 
turning, he said to him, ^^I see the w^hole matter ; for me 



282 Life of Jesus and His Apostles. 

to get sanctified, I must lose my place in the Conference 
and take chances for a living/^ He had a large family 
and a salary of $1,800. At a subsequent date, when 
a bishop presided over the Conference and advised them 
to put all of the sanctified preachers out of it, this very 
presiding elder prosecuted the preacher who had spent 
the night of prayer with him at his own request; ar- 
raigned him before his Quarterly Gonference and drove 
him out. 







CHAPTER XII. 

JUDGMENT SERMON ON MT. OLIVET. 

Jesus, having d^elivered: His farewell sermon in the 
Temple, terribly condemnatory of the clergy 'and ecclesi- 
astical officials; holding others at the gate and preaching 
to the Greeks, responsive to their appeal through Philip 
and Andrew; evading the enthusiasm of the multitude 
to crown Him King by rendering Himself invisible and 
thus disappearing ; as the afternoon goes on, is found by 
His disciples sitting on Mt. Olivet and contemplating 
the city and the Temple, of which He, in His position, 
enjoyed a conspicuous view. Then He proceeds to de- 
liver that wonderful sermon on His second coming, ex- 
pounding the judgments of the Jews, the Grentiles', and 
the final adjudication at the end of time. Out of the Jew- 
ish judgments the Christians are delivered; out of the 
Gentile judgments, the Bride of Christ is delivered. In 
the final judgment all nations stand before the Great 
White Throne. This notable sermon of our Lord is re- 
corded by Matthew, Chaps. 24 'and 26; Mark 13 and 
Luke 21. ^^He, sitting on the Mount of Olives, in front 
of the Temple, Peter, James, John and Andrew asked 
Him, T^U us when ^ball these things be ? And what the 
sign of thy coming? and of the end of the age (not the 
end o*f the world, as E.V.,but the end of the Gentile 'age). 
He now proceeds to warn them against the false Christ 
who would soon appear, thus notifying them so they 
would not be shaken by the bold pretensions which these 

2S3 



284: Life of Jesus and His Apostles. 

false claimants were going to make, Matt. 5 :10. Then 
many will be offended, and will betray one another and 
hate one another. And many false prophets will arise 
and deceive many. And because iniquity doth abpund, 
the love of many will wax cold. But he that persevereth 
to the end> the same shall he saved', and this gospel of 
the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a tes- 
timony to all the Gentiles ; and then the end shall come. 
Those prophecies of our Lord have been signally ful- 
filled in all their 'aspects, through the intervening ages : 
while a hundred millions of martyrs have sealed their 
faith with their blood. There is only one point in these 
prophecies, in reference to whose fulfillment, we are not 
sure ; and that is the preaching of the gospel to all na^ 
tions. Five years ago the best information seemed to 
confirm the conclusion that the gospel had reached every 
nation except Thibet and Eangoon, China ; and Soudan, 
Africa. Since that time it has been carried into these 
nations. Consequently the argument decisively favors 
the conclusion, that there is no nation on the earth 
known to geographers, which has not received the gos- 
pel. It must be preached into them sufficiently for it to 
witness their condemnation, in case that they reject it. 
Of this witness, G-od is the only Judge. In t:he glorious 
millennial reign, the Lord "will rule the world through 
the instrumentality of the saints constituting His bride. 
Therefore it is necessary that every nation have a chance 
for a place in the bridehood, as the nations will all sur- 
vive the tribulation, and continue in their respective 
places on the earth, during the millennial. The preva- 
lence of false prophets in the w^orld, the rapid decline of 
spirituality in the churches and the unprecedented 



Judgment Sermon c% Mt. Olivet 285 

spread of the gospel among the heathens, constitute 
prominent fulfillment of these latter-day prophecies 
delivered by our Savior. 

JEWISH TRIBULATION. 

V. 15-22. ^^Then when you may see the abomination 
of desolation, spOiken of by the Prophet Daniel, standing 
in the holy place, let him that readeth know, then let 
those who are in Judea fly to the mountains; and let 
not him who is in the house come down to take any 
thing out of his house; and let not him who is in the 
field turn back to take his garments.^^ After the cru- 
cifixion of Jesus, Marchochab and others arose, claiming 
to be Christ, leading multitudes after them and keeping 
the whole country in revolutionary agitation, evoking 
the threats of the Emperors ever and anon, and finally 
culminating in such antagonism to the Eoman govern- 
ment, that the Emperor undertook to put dow^n the re- 
bellion, sending an army, A. D. 66, under Gallus, who 
was su'cceeded, A. D. 67, by Vespasian, and he in A. D. 
70 by Titus, who prosecuted the war until 73, character- 
istic of Eoman despotism, to rule or ruin, finally succeed- 
ing in capturing Jerusalem, the most impregnable city in 
the world, having endured a siege of seven awful years ; 
meanwhile, a million perished by sword, pestilence and 
famine, and a million more were sold into slavery, and 
the residue led captive to Rome and made slaves of the 
Crown and forced to build the Great Coliseum. Jesus, 
in this sermon, gives His disciples the information they 
needed, to escape from the awful doom of the city. 
When the victory finally oanie and the Romans eflectecl 
an entrance through the walls, they proceeded at once to 



286 Life of Jesus and His Apostles, 

take possession of the Holy Campus from which the 

Gentiles had! been pTtohibited from tim-e immemorial^ by 
penalty of death. Therefore^ when they saw the Eoman 
battleflags floating over that holy plateau on Mt. Moriaii. 
it was a signal to them to fly fi^om the city at once. For 
reasons we cannot explain, but on a hypothesis of divine 
intervention, the Eoman armies permitted the Christians 
to escape. Here Jesus utters a sympathetic wail in be- 
half of the women who were so incumbered as to render 
their escape very difficult. ^Tray that your flight may 
not be in a storm, nor on the Sabbath day.^^ Jerusalem 
has no winter in our sense; but is subject to violent 
etorms, because of its proximity to the great sea. 

When I was there in 1899, a great storm swept over 
the Mediterranean, reaching Jerusalem with so much 
violence that it was very difficult to stand on foot, to say 
Bathing of travel. On the Sahbath day, the gates of the 
city were generally closed, rendering it impossible to es- 
cape. ^^For then there will be great tribulation, such as 
has not been from the beginning of the world till now, 
neither may ever be ; and if those days were not shorten- 
ed, no flesh was saved; but for the sake of the elect, those 
days will be shortened.'^ 

The elect of Israel, with wfhom all latter 
day prophecies will be fulfilled, were there, as some 
of the elect of grace. Will not the Gi-entile tribula- 
tion -equal this in severity? I trow not; because the Ro- 
mans exterminated the Jews of their country, kill- 
ing, selling into slavery and leading into captivity all of 
them ; which will not be the case in the Gentile tribula- 
tion^ which will only destroy the unsavable who have 



Judgment Sermon on Mt, Olivet. 287 

comdnitted the untpardonable sin, crossed the dead line 
and are past rediem.ption. 

Acts 3 :26. ^'And it shall come to pass, that every one 
who will not hear that Prophet shall be cut off from 
the people/^ 

Liifce 21 :23. ^^For there shall be great distress upon 
the earth, and wrath unto this people. And they shall 
fall by the edge of the 'sword ^and shell be led captives 
into all nations ; and Jerusalem sihall be trodden down by 
the Grentiles, until the times ^of the Gentiles may be ful- 
filled/^ 

Jerusalem is still trodden down by the Gen- 
tiles; yet it .seem(s that their times are rapidly 
rushing to their final fulfillment. This is a 
problem now puzzling the chronologists of all nations. 
There is no way by which we can measure time, except 
by the revolution of the heavenly bodies. Conse- 
quently we have three distinct systems of Chronology; 
that of the moon, that of the planets and tbiat of the sun. 
If we take the prophecies of Daniel, we will find the in- 
terregnum of Nebuchadnezzar during his insanity, sym- 
bolic of Gentile parenthesis in the theocracy. In these 
prophecies the year-day system is constantly recognized ; 
e. g., chap. 9, Daniel says it will be seventy weeks from 
the return of the Jews out of Babylonian captivity, ^^till 
Messiah be cut off.^^ Hisitory devdops the fact that it was 
just four hundred and ninety years from the founding 
of the Temple till Christ was nailed to the cross, thus 
proving the year-day system. Lunar time has 354 days 
in the year; Calendar, 360, and Solar, 365; 354x7-2478, 
360x7-2530, 365x7-2555. These numbers represent the 
Gentile times in their respective Chronologies. The 



288 Life of Jesus and His Apostles. 

Gentile times began with the fall of Jerusalem under 
Nebuchadnezzar, B. C. 587. Therefore 587x1901-2488, 
the time which has already expired during the Gentile 
reign. 2488-2478-10, showing up the fact that accord- 
ing to Lunar Chronology, the Gentile times have already 
expired and ten years more. 2520-2488-32, showing up 
the fact that according to the planetary time there are 
yet 32 years of the Gentile period. 2555-2488-67. There- 
fore you see that 67 years sitill remain to complete the 
Gentile period aocording to Solar chronology. Now we 
find in Dan. 12 :12 the tribulation will last 1338-1290-45 
years. Therefore, aeoording to Lunar Chronology 45x10- 
55, the tribulation is already over due these 55 years. 
45-32-13 years, the time the tribulation is over due ac- 
cording to Calendar Chronology. 67-45-22 years till the 
tribulation is due according to Solar Chronology. Hence 
you see the substantial concurrence of all the Chronolo- 
gies, confirmatory of the conclusion, that the Gentile 
time is just now expiring, when Jerusalem will be 
trodden down by the Gentiles, and polluted by 
Mohammedan idiolatries; but the children will again 
pitch their tents on the Holy Campus, into which it is 
now a death penalty for a Hebrew to put his foot, and 
the wandering will return from the ends of the earth, to 
the land of their paternity, the heritage which God be- 
queathed unto them through their father Abraham. 
The wonderful gathering of the Jews back to Jerusalem, 
already constituting a majority of the population, is a 
thrilling confirmation of these wonderful fulfillments 
of these prophecies. 



Judgment Sermon on Mt. Olivet, 289 

SIGNS OF HIS COMING. 

Matt. 23. ^^Tihen if any one may say to you, Lo! 
here is Christ or there; believe not. For false prophets 
and false Christ-hoods arise andi ^dll give manysign.s and 
wonders, so as to deceive, if possible, the elect. Behold I 
have told you beforehand.^^ False prophets abound this 
day, perverting the word of God, leading thousands after 
them and giving them an easy passport through their 
fingers into hell ; and gome are false Christs. I have met 
them, and heard of others by reliable information. The 
warning our Savior gives us, if heeded, will fortify us 
against all these false claimants. The elect are the 
truly sanctified people ; (Peter) . Here you see that there 
is a possibility of deceiving them, along with the carnal 
multitudes to <their etennal ruin. ^"^Theref ore, if they may 
say, Lo, He is in the desert, go not out. Lo, He is in the 
eeeret chambers, believe not. For as the lightning 
Cometh from the east and appeareth even unto the west, 
BO shall be the coming of the Son of Man.^^ Oh, the in- 
finite value of God^s word! It literally meets every 
emergency and settles it beyond the possibility of contro- 
versy. Here you see our Lord perfectly fortifies us 
against the slightest probability #f being deluded by any 
of these false Christs; as it is utterly impossible for them 
to command the signs here specified ; i. e., the lightning 
out from the east and sweeping in sheets of fiame across 
the firmament and illuminating all the western horizon 
vnih the gorgeous glory of a zigzag beauty. Hence you 
see this : the normal sign of our Lord'^s appearing is ut- 
terly uncounterfeitable. For where the carcass is there 
tiie eagles will be gathered together. The carcass here 



290 Life of Jesus and His Apostles. 

symbolizesi the political and ecclesiastical deterioration, 
and death, which supervenes as a normal consequence of 
the stenchy putrefaction which develops in human insti- 
tutions as the ages roll on ; e. g., the antediluvian world 
became diseased m'ore and more till death spread 
from pole to pole and wrapped her in watery winding 
sheets. So it was with Judaism, politically and ecclesi- 
a^tioally, getting more and more putrescent and stenchy, 
till the Eoman eagles (for the eagle was the national 
symbol and pictured on every battle flag), attracted by 
the stenchy odor, came to the banquet of carrion. In a 
similar manner the whole Grentile world is now sinking 
into diilapadlation, politically and ecclesiastically, yielding 
to deeper and more hopeless corruption, destined to work 
out revolution, disintegration and ruin; exhibiting the 
sad phenomenon of a loathsome corpse; putrefaction al- 
ready under headway, manifested in the appalling cor- 
ruption of church and state; and already scenting up the 
vultures, (which belonged to the eagle species, represent- 
ing the destroying angels of Daniel 7 :9-14, who will 
come down with the Ancient of Days, to execute ven- 
geance on a wicked world and fallen church; (Rev. 19: 
17) the angel standing on the sun and calling to all the 
voracious birds and beasts to come and feast on human 
fliesh. V. 29. 

And immediately after the dteeolation of those 
days, the sun will be darkened, the moon will not 
give her light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and 
the powers of the heavens shall be shaken. The E. V. 
which translates this passage "tribulation^^ is reprehen- 
gible ; as it leads the reader to conclude that it means the 
Gentile tribulation, which is not correct. It m^ans the 



Judgment Sermon on Mt Olivet. * 291 

desoktion of the Holy Land, which the Eomans wrought 
A. D. 66-73, in the seven years of Jewisih tribulation. 
This desolation which has rested on the land like a night- 
mare^through all the intervening centuries, is now rapid- 
ly evanescing under the return with wealtih and enter- 
prise of the Jews, who are reviving with wonderful ra- 
pidity, all the ancient cities, causing the memories of 
by-gone ages to grow green, and rise once more into 
glorious realities. This is, to me, the most signal and in- 
contestable sign of the Lord^s near approach. The dark- 
ening of the sun and moon and falling of the stars has 
here, as in Isaiah and Joel, a symbolic signification, em- 
blematizing the fall of the secular powers in all the 
earth ; the sun typifying the kings, the moon, the queens, 
the stars, the subordinate rulers. V. 30. "Then will ap- 
pear the sign of the Son of man in the sky; and all the 
nations and all the tribes of the earth will see the Son 
of man coming in the cloudis of Heaven, with great 
power and glory .^' 

The sign here mentioned is something different from 
the Son of Man Himself, who appears soon afterwards. 
Much inquiry has been raised in reference to what this 
sign will be. It will evidently be homogeneous to the 
sign of Hisi first coming ; which was a star appearing to 
the wise men of the East. I trow it will be none other 
than the splendor of His personal glory, shining out be- 
fore Him ; perhaps radiating forth in brilliant scintilla- 
tions, millions of miles, attracting the attention of the 
world, and evoking the investigations of scientists in 
every nation-; deviaing theories to explain it on the 
hypothesis of astronomy, electricity, magnetism and 



393 Life of Jesus and His Apostles, 

dynamite; pronouncing it the grandest aurora borealis 

the world has ever seen. 

Meanwhile, an awful, paralyzing pall will come on 
them all, as the glorified Jesus, in the splendor of His 
unutterahle personal m^ajesty, shall burst upon multi- 
plied millions of human faces turned skyward; when 
a unanimous weeping and wailing will break out 
simultaneously, from the countless hos't, gaaing upon the 
scene, from every land and clime. 

V. 31. ^'Then will He send forth His angels with the 
great sound of the tru!mpet,andi they will gather His elect 
from the four winds, from the extremities of the Heav- 
ens unto the extremities of the same/^ Here we see the 
rapture of the saints. 

Peter says, ^^We, elect through sanctiflcation of 
the Spirit.^^ So be sure you are truly sanctified 
through and through, as it is only in this way you 
can make your calling and election sure. What a 
wonder that every intelligent Bible reader is not striving 
for a place among the elect, so as to secure a participa- 
tion of the rapture of the saints, here and elsewhere, so 
clearly and unmistakably specified. Luke 5 :38. "And 
these things beginning to take place, straighten up and 
lift up your heads, because your redemption is nigh.^' 

Eedemption here means the rapture and transfigura- 
tion of the saints. From the hour the Lord ascended 
into Heaven from Mt. Olivet, the widowed church has 
been bowed down with grief, waiting in longing expect^ 
ancy the return of her Heavenly Spouse. So Luke, heire 
describes her, bowed down with grief, over the absence 
of her Lord, . praying God to send Him back ; p'Ut the 
devil out of the world and give her the promised do- 



Judgment Sermon on Mt. Olivet, 293 

minion. Now that these thrilling phenomena flood the 
world with the glorious realization of the 1900 years^ 
prayer^ abundantly answered in the return of the Lord, 
on the Throne of His Glory; the buried saints rising 
with shouts, and the living translated, and all mount- 
ing up to meet the Lord in the air. 

Matt. 5:32. ^^Learn a parable from the fig tree; 
when her branch is already tender and she putteth 
forth leaves, know that the summer is nigh; and you, 
when you may -see all these things, know 'that it is at the 
door. Truly I say unto you, this race cannot pass away,, 
until all these thiijgs may be.^^ 

The fig tree here, 'emblem<atizes the Jewish nation. 
They are, at that time, in a high state of prosperity, 
manifested by the full foliage, but destitute of spiritual 
fruit. Therefore, under the divine anathema it withered 
away; i. e., the Roman armies desolated. Here our 
Lord certifies that it can never pass away, till all the 
prophecies relative to it are fulfilled. While all other 
races have disappeared among them, even mighty Rome, 
-at that time filling the whole earth ; yet the Jews, though 
driven from their home among the nations and wander- 
ers upon the face of the earth, (have to the astonishment 
of the whole world, survived a thousand revolutions, 
and still exist, a distinct nationality, the puzzle and the 
enigma of all the earth. 

Mark says: ^'^Concerning that day or hour, no 
one knows, not even the angels nor the Son, except 
the Father. While the chronologies and the copious 
prophetic signs inundate us with the assurance 
that the Lord is very nigh; yet the diversities of the 
Chronologies disqualifies anyone to know the day or the 



294 Life of Jesus and His Apocstles. 

hour. Doubtless the Son knows it now, whereas at that 
time, in His humiliation, as it was a long way off, it was 
not revealed to His humanity. The date at that time 
was so ddstant that it was not important. The fact, His 
Divinity constantly saw, in glorious panorama, moving 
before Him. 

Matt. 37. ^^But, as it was in the days of ISToah^ 
so shall ^be also the coming of the Son of man; for 
as they were in the days before the flood, eating and 
■ drinking, and marrying and giving in marriage, until 
the day on which Noah entered into the Ark, and they 
knew not until the flood came and took them all away ;, 
so shall the coming of the Son of Man be. Then two 
men shall be in the field; one is taken and one is left 
T'wo women grinding at the mill ; one is taken and one 
is left. In case of ISToah, the Ark symbolizes the cloud 
in which the Lord will come and receive His saints out 
of this wicked world, leaving all the balance to take 
chances in the great tribulatiom The two men in the 
field and the two women at the mill, the one taken and 
the other left, vividly sets forth the rapture. The wild 
rush of th6 world on business lines, heedless and im* 
provident of the awful ruin hastening to meet them, 
is forcibly emblematized by the blind world, regardless of 
Noah^s warning a hundred and twenty years before,, 
rushing into the devouring deluge. 

Mark 33. "Look out, watch and pray, as a 
m'an going on a journey, leaving his house and 
giving authority to 'his servants, and giving each one 
'his work and commanding the porter that he should 
watch. Watch, therefore, for you know not when the 
Lord of the house cometh, late or at midnight, or at the 



Judgment Sermon on Mt, Olivet, 295 

crowing of the cock, or in the morning; lest having come 
suddenly, he may find you sleeping. Whatsoever things 
I say to you, I say to all, watch V^ 

The porter here means the preadher or leader, or any 
person occupying a conspicuous and responsible place 
in the Kingdom of God. Jesus commands him espec- 
ially, and all others, to be on the constant lookout for His 
appearing. The comm-andment actually appears five 
times in these four sentences, utterd by our Lord. In 
this wonderful sermon on His second coming, He is par- 
ticular to specify all the hours in which people are like- 
ly to sleep ; e. g., the long evening hours, midnight and 
the small hours of the morning. These deliverances of 
•our Savior utterly annihilate the post-millennial view 
of His coming; as such a hypothesis utterly disqualifies 
its advocates to be constantly watching ; looking for and 
expecting Him to appear ; as they believe that the mil- 
lennial of a thousand years must come and go before 
the Lord appears. When a theory or a doctrine contra- 
♦ diets Jesus, as j^ou plainly see and know in this case, 
there is no more room for controversy. You are bound 
to abandon it as false. Luke 34. "But t-ake heed to 
yourselves lest your heart be burdened with luxury and 
drunkenness and the cares of this life, and that the day 
may come on you unawares.^^ 

Shall we not all heed this warning of our 
blessed Savior? Excessive eating and drinking, 
and burdensome cares of this fleeting life, drag us 
down from the high plane of the pure, spiritual atmos- 
phere, above the clouds and storms, where Jesus walks 
an-d talks with the heavenly pilgrims about things im- 
mortal, spiritual and celestial. If you wc^d be truly 



296 Life of Jesus and His Apostles. 

spiritual, you must not brutalize yourself by excessive 
eating, nor di^bolize yourself by strong drink, tobacco, 
opium nor any other filthy drug. Oh, how we could 
glorify God and save the heathens with the money which 
we uselessly expend on our bodies, to our spiritual detri- 
ment ! *^Tor as a lasso it will come upon all the people 
w^ho are sitting down on the face of the earth. Watch 
therefore, praying all the time, in order that you may 
be counted worthy to escape all these things that are 
about to take place and to stand before the Son of 
Man.^^ 

Our Savior exhorts us to be so constantly and in- 
tently watching for Him, that we will be standing up 
with our loins girded, 'staflf in hand and lights burning, 
ready every moment to go right out to meet Him. 
Whereas, He here announces a terrible woe on the people 
who are sitting down ; i. e., resting in carnal security. He 
says thiat awful day will catch them, like the lasso, which 
the robber suddenly drops over the head of the traveler, 
and drags him to death and robs him. You find no other • 
commandment so frequently repeated by the infallible 
Christ, as ^^Watch V^ which sim<ply means to be on the 
constant lookout for His appearing. This very con- 
stant expectancy of the Lord^s return, is the greatest of 
all inspirations to >a> holy experience and life. Therefore, 
holiness to the Lord and the constant outlook 'and readi- 
ness for His appearing^ constitute the battle-cry of Em- 
manueFs militant hosts. There are two oars to the full 
salvation boat, by which we row over timers stormy ocean 
and m-ake good our safe landing on the happy, golden 
shore. Matt. 43. '^^Know this, if the landlord knew at 
what watch the thief cometh, 'he would have watched and 



Judgment Sermon #n Mt. Olivet, 297 

not suffered his house to be broken into. Therefore, be 
3'e always ready, for you know not at what hour the Son 
of man cometh/^ 

Who, then, is the faithful and wdse servant, whom 
his lord appointed over his household, to give them their 
food in season ? "Happy is that servant whom his lord, 
having come, w^ill find so d^ing. Truly I say unto you, he 
will appoint him over all his possession/^ The Lord is 
coming back to this world to steal aw^a}^ His bride. Hence 
to slumbering church and wicked world (also fast 
asleep). His coming is like that of the thief, at mid- 
night. His coming to the bride is that of her glorious 
Heavenly Lover. Here you see that all who are not 
watching for Him will get into awful trouble, indicated 
by having their ^%ouses broken into.^^ Here we see that 
the wise and faithful servant whom the Lord has ap- 
pointed, does give the food to inmates of His house in 
•season. What is this food? It is simplj^ "^Tioliness to 
the Lord^^ ; i. e., entire sanctification and constant vigi- 
lance for His appearing. He also here certifies that the 
one whom He finds thus watching is happy ; i. e., blessed, 
and He assures us that He will appoint him over all 
His possessions; i. e., promote him to glorious and im- 
mortal honors and emoluments in the coming kingdom. 
(v. 48.) '^^But if that wicked servant may say in his 
heart, my Lord delayeth His coming, and may begin to 
smite his fellow servants and eat and drink with the 
drunken, the Lord of that servant will come in a day in 
T\iiich he does not expect, and in an hour in w^hich he 
does not know, and will cut him off, and appoint him his 
part with hypocrites; and there shall be weeping and 
gnashing of teeth.'^ This man is none other than a 



298 Life of Jesus and His Apostles. 

preacher in high standing, living in royal splendor on 
money wrung from the people by heavy assessment's and 
tyrannical enforcements of what he calls the laws of the 
church, which it has made without divine authority; 
which he enforces unscrupulously through his sycophan- 
tic officials, fleecing the pockets of the poor 'and robbing 
the heathens out of the dollars which should go to 
them as their legitimate pro-rata of the four 
thousand assessment. So this man stands at the front, 
honored and appreciated as a metropolitan pastor and 
celebrated 'as a star preacher ; a -candidate for the episco- 
pacy and all other honors, till the Lord comes; reveal- 
ing his true character — ^all these years -a counterfeit, 
false prophet. So He takes him out of his place and 
sends him to hell where he belongs. N. B. The promi- 
nent charge 'again'st this man in this connection is that 
he says, ^^My Lord delayeth His coming.^^ Here Jesus 
simply affirms in this paragraph that the true preacher 
preachesi the great spiritual truths of salvation ; i. e., re- 
generation and sanctification, and emphasizes the com- 
ing of the Lord, with exhortation to all His people to be 
ready and on the constant outlook. 

JUDGMENT OF THE BRIDE. 

Matt. 25:1-30. In these two beautiful, rich and 
glorious parables Jesus sets forth the judgment which 
must be verified in case of all who enjoy membership in 
the bride-hood and a place in the cloud when the Lord 
honors His people with the glorious rapture. Through- 
out the Bible the church is symbolized by a pure wo- 
inan, and thet counterfeit church by a harlot. So here 



Judgment Sermon on Mt. Olivet. 299 

we have the representative number ten, which is the 
multiple of hundreds^ thousands, millions. . . . All 
getting their lamps lighted ; i. e., their souls regenerated 
and illuminated from heaven; i. e., truly and gloriously 
converted and set out to meet the bridegroom ; i. e.; be- 
come true pilgrims on the heavenly highway, bound for 
the land of bright glory. Now a crisis arises^ develop- 
ing a division — ^half and half. Five of them receive light 
on the infinite importance of a second work of grace. 
Therefore, they get their vessels; i. e., their hearts filled 
with oil — i. e., the Holy Ghost ; thus providing an ample 
supply ad libitum to replenish their lamps, as tiiey 
travel on their journey, so as to keep them in good 
trim — always burning brightly: the other five faiied 
to realize the necessity of carrying with them this 
ample supply of oil. N. B. The latter five are denonip 
inated ^^foolish^^ by the infallible Jesus, for no con*- 
ceivable reason, but because they neglected to get their 
vessels filled with oil. The solution is so plain that the 
most simple child will see it. Lighting the lamp is re- 
generation; filling the vessels with oil is sanctificationw 
Hence you see every regenerated person who neglects 
sanctification is not only called ^^foolish^^ but is ^^f'ool- 
ish,^^ from the simple fact that Jesus can neither tell a 
lie nor make a mistake. 

God help you to show this thrillingly im- 
portant truth to all you meet in your pilgrim- 
age. There is no dodging the issue. To deny the 
fact and the infinite importance of the second work of 
grace in the face of this scripture is to flatly contradict 
Jesus. Our lamps out (E. V.) is not correct. The Greek 
sbeununtai, being in the present tense, and correctly 



300 Life of Jesus and His Apostles. 

tran-slated are going out. A lamp that is going out is 
not yet out, but burning low, and much needing a fresh 
supply of oil. These foolish virgins are not sinners, but 
Christians in a low state of regeneration, for all who 
neglect sanctification, either retrograde into spiritual 
dwarfhood or die. These foolish virgins represent all 
the unsanctified Christians in the world, when the Lord 
comes for His bride. ^'^While the Bridegroom tarried 
they all nodded and slept ;^^ i. e., the wise nodded and 
the foolish slept. Enustaxan; (>slumbered, E. V. , is 
more correctly translated, nodded, as that is the first 
meaning of the word. This illustrates the great impor- 
tance of preaching frequently on the Lord^s coming, 
as it is the most potent preventive of those sleepy ^spells 
which are wont to come on all, even the sanctified. The 
better class of Christians realize an ebb and flow in 
their spiritual wakefulness; a tendency to become 
drowsy, and give way to nodding, ultimately develop- 
ing into actual slumber. ^^Midnight^^ has only a sym- 
bolic meaning here, typif5dng the deep sleep which 
will everywhere wrap the wicked world and the fallen 
church, when the Lord returns-, to steal away His Bride. 
We see in the protest of the wise, refusing to give 
the foolish some of their oil, that none of us have any 
grace to spare, but all need every iota of the grace God 
gives them. The wise virgins who rank as holiness 
evangelists in the parable, exhort them to sell and pur- 
chase for themselves. They do go, and there is not an 
intimation that they never can get it. The trouble cul- 
minating in their case, was that they were too late, and 
consequently the Bride having been admitted into the 
marriage supper of the Lamb, the foolish virgins could 



Judgment Sermon on Mt. Olivet. 301 

not enter. We can not afford to be "wise above what is 
written/^ 

Eev. 20:4. "And I saw thrones, and they sat 
upon them, and judgment was given unto them, and I 
saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the 
witness and for the word of Grod, who did not worship 
the beasts nor his image, nor did receive the mark 
upon their forehead and upon their hand; and they lived 
with Christ a thousand years/^ Here we see a supple- 
ment added to the Bride of Christ, when they arrive 
from Heaven, after the tribulation. Hence these were 
sanctified during the tribulation, as all who were in the 
experience before, went up in the rapture, leaving no 
sanctified people on the earth when the tribulation set 
in. You see this parable closes with a fervent admoni- 
tion to all to be constantly ready and on the outlook. 
Such will be the predominant power of Satan and Anti- 
christ during the tribulation^ there being no sanctified 
people on the earth to antagonize them, that doubtless 
while the whole wtirld will be thus dominated by the 
powers of darkness and inundated with wickedness, the 
presumption is> that the most of Christians will back- 
slide, while some will stem the awful tide of blood and 
fire and actually get sanctified; but as you see in the 
above quotation, sealing their faith with their blood; 
for doubtless the persecutions of bygone ages will again 
return, with their old-time horrors of blood and fire. 

You see the fatal error of the foolish virgins was 
that of putting the standard too low, like millions at the 
present day, who say conversion is enough, thus flatly 
contradicting Jesus, who so clearly and unmistakably 
in this parable and others, teaches the imperative ne- 



302 Life of Jesus and His Apostles. 

cessity of a S'econd work. The foolish virgins thought 
that they could go through on the one blessing. In- 
stead of landing at the marriage festival in the New 
Jerusalem^ they not only find themselves left out^ but 
also encompassed with all the horrors of the tribulation. 
The parable of the talents is a substantial repetition 
of the preceding. As in ease of the virgins^ the five who 
received the second blessing, came throug'h all right, 
while those who neglected it, lost their place in the 
Bridehood. So in the parable of the talents. AH those 
who double, come out right. The Bible reveals truth so 
important that it is frequently doubled ; e. g., the dreams 
of Pharaoh, the chief butler and the chief baker. The 
five-talented man doubled his talents, meeting the Lord 
with ten, and receiving a welcome into the Bridehood. 
Likewise the two-talented man, doubled to four, and 
came out triumphantly. Meanwhile the one-talented 
man, thinking he will make the matter sure, buries it 
for safe keeping, bringing it out, meeting his Lord with 
congratulations, surrendering up the talent and feeling 
sure all will be right. You see his fate was infinitely 
worse than that of the foolish virgins; they lost their 
place in the Bridehood: he lost his i&oul. The foolish 
virgins made the mistake of putting the standard too 
low, and thinking one work of grace was enough, while 
the one-talented man made the opposite mistake; i. e., 
put the standard too high, thinking God was so rigid and 
imperious in His demands, that no man could meet 
them; consequently he gave up and did not try. His 
followers are legion this d'ay. They, boldly, from pulpit 
and pew, declare to us that entire sanctification is too 



Judgment Sermon on Mt. Olivet, 303 

high for any one to reach in this life. Hence they dis- 
courage all from making the attempt. 

THE FINAL JUDGMENT. 

• 

V. 31-46. 'TBut when the Son of man may come in 
His glory and all the angels with Him^ then He will 
sit upon the throne of His glory, and all the nations 
will be assembled before Him and He will separate 
them from one another as a shepherd separates the sheep 
from the goats ; ^and He will place the sheep on the right 
and the goats on the left. Then will the King say to 
thosio on His right, ^^Come, ye 'blessed of my Father, in- 
herit the kingdom which was prepared for you from the 
beginning of the world.^^ Then will He say to those on 
His left, ^^Depart from me, ye ^uTsed., into eternal fire 
which was prepared for the devil land his angels. . . . 
These shall go away into eternal punishment and the 
righteous into eternal life.^^ Whereas, the judgment of 
the Bride-hood will take place as we see in the parable of 
the virgins and the talents, before the Millennium, the 
Bride being caught up to the marriage soipper of the 
Lamb, and there organized for the part she is destined 
to take in the Millennial reign, as the subordinate of 
Christ during the glorious kingdom of a thousand 
yefars. 

In Rev. 20:5, you see the first resurrection takes 
place at -the beginning of the Millennium; V. 11-15 
shoiws lihat the final and general resurrection is 'subse- 
quent to the Millennial reign. 1 Oor. 6:2. ^^Do you 
know that the saints will judge the world ?^^ Jno. 5 :24. 
^Truly, truly, I say unto you, the one hearing my 



304 Life of Jesus and His Apostles. 

word and believing on Him that sent me^ has eternal 
iife^ and does not come into judgment^ but has passed 
out of death into life/^ This shows that the saints do 
not come into the judgment^ having received theirs ante- 
cedently^ so that in the final judgment they are in- 
cluded in the Lord^s glory ; being there present and co- 
operative with their glorious king in the judgment of 
the world. You see this final judgment proeedes^ on 
two broad^ general principles, the whole world being 
represented by the sheep, which symbolizes purity, and 
the goat, which symbolizes sin. The responses recip- 
rocally made in the interview of the Lord with the peo- 
ple on His right hand, show that they did not enjoy a 
very thorough acquaintance with Him, while the saite 
is true of those on His left. About all the solution at 
which we can arrive, is the recognition of the deep un- 
dercurrent of divine love, which can grow only on the 
tree of -saving faith, on the part of those on the right, 
and the absence of the same in the case of the people on 
His left, denominated ^'^goats.^^ You see in the one case 
this love is manifested in deeds of kindness, and disin- 
terested philanthropy, while in case of the otber hemis- 
phere of the countless multitude, gathered on His left, 
it is wanting. 

The Holy Spirit has been in the world in all 
ages, calling people to a life of love. As this love 
is the normal fruit of faith; those who manifest it, in a 
mysterious way, wrought upon by the silent Spirit of 
God in the heart, yield to Him though they know Him 
not, and consequently bear His normal fruit in their 
lives, which is love; meanwhile the people in all ages 
and nations, who grieve away the silent, heavenly Mon- 



Judgment Sermon on Mt. Olivet. 305 

itor, live selfish lives^ thus hrutelizing themselves^ and 
bearing the fruit of misanthropy instead of philanthro- 
py. I trow there will he a great surprise in eternity to 
see how the multiplied millions who^ amid the darkness 
of heathenism^ Mohammedanism and Eomanism and all 
the superstitions which have girdled the globe through 
the revolving ages^ have^ through the mediatorial mer- 
cies of God in Christ, dispensed by the Holy Ghost in 
His merciful interventions to every human soul, ulti- 
mately reac^hed the land of parental bliss and glory. 

Here you see that the rank and file of these people, 
both the good and the bad, as represented by the sheep 
and the goats, did not enjoy a personal ^acquaintance with 
Jesus. Therefore the conclusion is tenable that the 
saints are not really included in this multitude, because 
they enjoy a personal acquaintance with the Savior of 
the world, and perform all their works of faith, love 
and obedience, with an eye ^single to His glory ; doing 
these things for Him personally and understandingly. 
M-eanWhile, the wicked in gospel lands are generally con- 
scious of their contempt and disobedience to Him and 
i)pen rebellion against Him. The saints receive their 
judgment in this life, entering into intelligent co-opera- 
tion with the Lord, in the administration of His king- 
dom on the earth; standing courageously for Him, in 
their bold advocacy of truth and righteousness, and their 
heroic condemnation of error and sin. During the Mil- 
lennium, this world will be no longer divided and 
perplexed with a mixed administration ; but Satan hav- 
ing been taken out, Jesus will reign without a rival. We 
see revealed in a multiplicity of scriptures that He will 
rule the world through the instrumentality of His sub- 



306 Life of Jesus and His Apostles. 

ordinate saints, who meanwhile, will judge the world, 
and consequently bear a conspicuous part in the final 
judgment. We see here the final doom of the wicked, 
revealed in awful and unmistakable phraseology. Hell 
is God^s penitentiary, for the incarceration of the incor- 
rigible subjects of His universal empire. It was not 
made for human beings, as they are all redeemed and 
eligible to Heaven. Therefore their incarceration in hell 
is a matter of necessity on the part of the divine gov- 
ernment, consequent upon their rejection of salvation 
and forfeiture of heaven. 

The phraseology which Jesus here uses is not only 
unmistakable but inevasible by all the sophistries of 
Universalism. Aioonion, from aiai always and oon^ be- 
ing the strongest Greek adjective signifying eternal per- 
petuity, appears in verse 41, defining the duration of the 
fire into which the wicked will be cast. In verse 46 it 
defines the duration of the punishment which will over- 
take the wicked; (not ^everlasting^ as E. V., but eter- 
nal;) and it also defines the duration which will char- 
acterize the life of the righteous; while in Heb. 9:12 
it defines the duration of our redemption, and in verse 
14 it defines the Holy Ghost. Hence you see the pitiful 
nonsense of an attempt to limit the hell of the wicked. 
It will continue with its unquenchable fire so long as the 
saints live in glory, the redemption of Christ holds good 
and God himself shall live. Nohellites flounder terri- 
bly over this clear and inevasible revelation of Jesus; 
all their efforts to extricate themselves, being utterly 
futile and vain. 



CHAPTEE XIII. 

THE VALEDICTORY SERMOX AND PRAYER. 

Matt. 26, It is now about nightfall Wednesday ev- 
ening. The awful preaching of Jesus in the Temple the 
last three daj^s has aroused the blackest venom of the 
bottomless pit in the hearts of the chief priests, scribes 
and elders, who convene in the judgment hall of Caia- 
phas, where they pass an edict to take Him by strata- 
gem and kill Him, availing themselves of the first op- 
portunity, anxious to consummate it before the festi- 
val sets in, fearing a civil war may break out in the 
event of an attempt to put Him to death during the 
Passover. John 12 :2. "Then they made a supper for 
Him there, and Mary was serving, and Lazarus was one 
of those sitting along with Him. Then Mary, taking 
a pound of spikenard myrrh estimated very valuable, 
washed the feet of Jesus and wiped His feet with her 
bairs, and the house was filled with the odor of the 
myrrh. Then one of His disciples, Judas Iscariot, the 
son of Simon, the one about to betray Him, says: 
Wherefore was not this myrrh sold for forty-five dollars 
and given to the poor ? And he spoke this not because 
there was a care to him concerning the poor, but because 
he was a thief and had the purse and was accustomed to 
carry the contributions. And then Jesus said: "Let 
her alone ; she has kept this until the day of my burial. 
For you will have the poor always with you, but me you 
have not always. Mark 24 :8. She hath done what she 

307 



308 Life of Jesus and His Apostles, 

could;, she came beforehand to anoint my body for the 
burial. Truly, I say unto you, wherever this gospel shall 
be preached throughout the whole worlds this which she 
has done shall be told for a memorial of her/^ 

This supper was in the house of Simon^, the leper, 
doubtless one of those whom Jesus had healed. I was in 
that house two years ago. That was really the last meal 
He ever ate in Bethany. The holy family, Mary, Mar- 
tha and Lazarus as well as the apostles, and perhaps oth- 
er friends, were present. During the supper Mary pour- 
ed on His head a pound of the most valuable myrrh, 
whose delicious aroma filled the house; meanwhile she 
anoints His feet and wipes them with her hair. Judas 
was present enjoying the supper. He lifts up his voice 
in criticism, condemning the prodigality of Mary in the 
apparently extravagant bestowment of the valuable 
myrrh, worth (not as E. V., 300 pence), but, 300 dena- 
ria. A's the denarian was really, as the name indicate*^. 
ten penniesi — their penny, II/2 cents of out money — the 
value of the whole amount, as you see, is $45.00. Why 
did Jesus call Judas a 'fhief ? Because He knew )\2 was 
at that time, in the act of selling Him to the chief 
priests, when he had no idea that they could take Him, 
as he had seen them trying it so long and signally fail- 
ing. There is not an insinuation against the character 
of Judas till (John 5 :71) about the close of the second 
year of the Lord^s ministry, illustrating the fact that he 
had proved faithful these two years, enjoying the honor 
of apostolic treasurer, without a blot marring the in- 
tegrity of his official adoninistnation. Beware of money, 
It has an inherent magnetism. Look out, for it will 
draw you from your holy equilibrium. It drew Judas 



The Valedictory Sermon and Prayer. 309 

and plunged him into hell; the first allegation arising 
a year after, getting stronger as the days went by, till 
John, by the inspiration of the Holy Ghost, pronounced 
him a thief. They are now all well, enjoying the good 
supper which loving hands had prepared for Jesus and 
His apostles, none dreaming that two days hence Jesus 
will be laid away in the sepulchre a mangled corpse. 
Therefore, knowing that His burial is at hand. He com- 
mends Mary for thus coming beforehand to anoint Him 
for His interment, after the Jewish custom of embalm- 
ment. Meanwhile He drops the beautiful prophecy, that 
this deed of loving philanthropy of Mary will accom- 
pany the gospel to the ends of the earth, thus commem- 
orating this paragon saint. 

Luke 22 :3. And Satan entered into Judas 
called Iscariot, being of the number of the 
twelve. And having gone away he spoke with the 
chief priest and the magistrates, how he would deliver 
Him to them. And they rejoiced and promised to give 
him money. And he promised and sought opportunity 
to deliver Him to them without a tumult. 

This took place on Wednesday night after the sup- 
per in the house of Simon^ the leper. There is no 
doubt that Jesus lodged that night at the house of Mary, 
Martha and Lazarus, whose hospitality He had so fre- 
quently enjoyed during the three years of His ministry. 
Now He knows that this is His valedictory to that de- 
lightful home of the prophets. It is now Thursday 
morning preceding the memorable Friday of His cruci- 
fixion. Though the Passover festival properly opened 
on the Sabbath, these two days were always used to pre- 
pare for the oncoming feast; slaying the Passover lamb 



310 Life of Jesus and His Apostles. 

and breaking the unleavened breads getting all things 
readj^ Josephns says^ two hundred and fifty thous- 
and lambs were frequently slain for a single Passover. 
What a magnanimous and copious symbol^ typi- 
fying to the world that the Lamb of God was going to 
die to redeem eartVs guilty millions. Now He sends 
away Peter and John with orders to go into the city 
and prepare for Him and His disciples to celebrate the 
Passover^ specifying to them, to go on till they met a 
man carrying a pitcher of water^ whom they were to fol- 
low into the house which he should enter^ and there say 
to the landlord^ v. 2^ ^'^Our Teacher says to thee. Where 
is the guest chamber^ where I may eat the Passover with 
my disciples? He will show you a large^ upper room 
furnished; there prepare. And having gone^ they found 
it^ as He said to them^ and prepared the Passover. ^^ 

It is now Thursday evening. Peter and John^ re- 
sponsive to the Lord^s commandment, have gotten every 
thing ready for the first Passover meal;, which was to 
have been eaten about supper time. V. 14. ^^And when 
the hour arrived, He sat down and the Twelve Apostles 
with Him. And He said to them, with desire, I desired 
to eat this Passover with you before supper. For I say 
to you that I eat of it no more, until it may be ful- 
filled in the kingdom of God. And taking the cup, 
blessing it. He said, receive this and divide it among you, 
for I say unto you that I shall drink no more of the 
fruit of the vine, until the kingdom of God may come/' 

That was really the last meal He ate on earth. Now 
what are we to understand by the kingdom of God as 
here mentioned? This phrase is constantly applied to 
the gospel kingdom, of ^^righteousness, peace and joy in 



The Valedictory Sermon and Prayer, 311 

the Holy Ghost'' (Eom. 14:17) which He brought with 
Him in His first advent^ and it superseded the dispen- 
sation of the law and the prophets. Therefore we must 
unders'tand the kingdom of glory^ which He will bring 
with Him, w^hen He returns to take up His reign on the 
earth. We must constantly ddscriminate between the 
kingdom of grace which He brought in- His first advent, 
and the kingdom of glory, which He will bring when He 
rules down on the throne c the Millennial Theocracy, 
V. 24. ^^And there was a contention among them, which 
one of them was accounted to he the greater. And He 
said to them, The kings of Gentiles domdneer over them, 
and those with power over them are called Benefactors. 
Ye shall not be so ; but let the one who is greater among 
you be as the younger, and he that is chief, 
as he that doth serve. For who is the great- 
er: The one that sitteth, or the one that serveth? 
Is not the one that sitteth? I am in the midst of you 
as the one that ministereth, but you have rem'ained 
with me in my temptations, and I appoint unto you a 
kingdom as my Father appointed unto me, that you may 
eat and drink at my table in my kingdom and sit upon 
twelve thrones, judging the Twelve Tribes of Israel.^^ 
Here is a beautiful allusion to His glorious kingdom. 
(Compare Matt. 19 :28, which brings out the same truth 
more fully, involving the unmistakable fact that the 
Apostles will be the first subordinates of Christ in the 
glorious Millennial Theocracy.) 

FEET WASHING. 

John 13 :l-20. Immediately our Lord enforces what 
He had just told them about the law of supremacy in 



312 Life of Jesus and His Apostles. 

His kingdom; i. e.^, that it is diametrically opposite i(3 
the order of sequence in earthly kingdoms, where the 
autocrat is served by his citizens^ whereas, in the King- 
dom of God, the leader is the most servile of all, actually 
a servant, of servants. In that country shoes are not 
worn, but sandals, tied beneath their feet, to protect 
them from the rocks. The Orientals are exceedingly 
polite and ho&pitable. When a guest comes to the door 
the host meets him with water and towel, unties and re* 
moves the sandals from his feet, proceeding at once to 
w^ash them with his own hands and wipe them dili- 
gently, after which he enters the house. This remov- 
ing the sandals and washing the feet was regarded as 
servile and humiliating in the superlative degree. So 
Jesus at once rises from the table, lays aside His humil- 
iation, pours water in a bowl, girds Himself with a towel 
and proceeds to wash the disciples-' feet; thus illustrat- 
ing in oriental simplicity, the humble and servile atti- 
tude of a ruler in his kingdom. The idea entertained 
by some of the Lord's people that this was to be perpet- 
uated as an ordinance in the church, is refuted by the 
words of Jesus to Peter. 1. 7. "Jesus responding said to 
him, "What I do, thou knowest not now, but shalt know 
hereafter.^^ Peter did know that He was washing his 
feet. Hence we see that was not the thing which He was 
doing ; i. e., the transaction was not to be received liter- 
ally, but s3rmbolically ; illustrating the grand truth which 
He has just evolved; setting forth the humility and ser- 
vility of every leader in His kingdom. The history of 
the church corroborates the typical signification of this 
transaction, showing, up the fact that the Apostolic 
church never did practice it, which they certainly would 



The Valedictory Sermon a/nd Prayer, 313 

have done if such were the meaning of our Lord. As a 
practice^ history catches not a glimpse of it, till a few 
centuries ago when the Tunker Baptists took it up. 
When you fall in with God^s people who practice it, do 
not antagonize them, lest you grieve the Holy Spirit, as 
it is certainly harmless. 

JESUS DESIGNATES JUDAS. 

21. They are still at the supper table. Jesus, having 
stopped a minute to enforce that great and important 
answer to the controversy among His disciples in refer- 
ence to supremacy in His Kingdom, proceeds with His 
discourse, saying, "Truly, truly, I say unto you, that one 
of you will hetray me.^^ The disciples looked toward 
one another, being at a loss concerning of which one 
He spake. And one of His disciples whom Jesus loved, 
was reclining on the bosom of Jesus. Then Simon ^ 
Peter beckons to him to ask, who it was ooncem- 
ing whom He speaks. And he, leaning on the bosom of 
Jesus, says to Him, Lord, who is he? Jesus responds, 
he it is to whom, having dipped the morsel, I will give 
it. And having dipped the morsel He gives it to Judas 
Iscariot the son of Simon. After the morsel, then Satan 
entered into him. Then Jesus says to him. What you are 
doing, do more quickly.^^ ^^Hiile at the supper table, 
when Jesus tells them outright that one of them is go- 
ing to betray Him to His enemies, they are all as- 
tounded and appalled, each one saying. Lord, is it I? 
Meanwhile He pronounces an awful woe on the one who 
betrays Him, and says, "It were good for him if 
that man had not been bom.^' Meanwhile they are all 



314 Life of Jesus and His Apostles. 

thunderstricken over the revelation that one of them is a 
traitor. Peter beckons to John who always sat next to 
Him to ask Him to designate the traitor. Jesus re- 
sponding to him in an undertone says^ He will point 
him out by dipping a morsel in the gravy and putting 
it in his mouth ; which is regarded among the Orientals 
as a signal of love and friendship. So He dips the mor- 
sel and gives it to Judas. Then Satan^ who has been 
pulling on him a whole year^ is emboldened to enter into 
him at once; thus in the finale^ taking possession of him, 
and impellirg him to do his will. Then Jesus tells Juda.> 
to hurry up Ihe work which he is doing; i. e., His betray- 
al. In this close iiiterview, while each one was looking 
the Lor^d in the face and saying, ^Is it I ?' Judas said 
likewise. Jesus said to him; ^^Thou hast said it/^ 
which is a well known Oriental form of direct affirma- 
tion ; spoken in an undertone so the others did not un- 
derstand it. This matter had been growing on Judas a 
whole yeavr, yet he had sihown no outward signs of the in-^ 
ward temptation the enemy was prosecuting. Conse- 
quently all this time he stood among his peers unsus- 
pected; V. 29. And no one of tho'se sitting at the table 
knew, for what He spoke to him. For some thought^ 
since Judas had the purse, that Jesus says to him, pur- 
chase some of those things of which we have need at 
the feast; or that he might give something to the poor» 
WTien he received the morsel he immediately went out, 
and it was night. Then when he went out Jesus said; 
"Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified 
in Him. If God is glorified in Him,, truly God will glo- 
rify Him in Himself and will glorify Him immediate* 



The Valedictory Sermon and Prayer, 315 

This reference to His gtorification is spoken propheti- 
cally, as it did not take place till He died the next day. 
Now that Judas is gone, He proceeds to tell them the 
awful things Tv^hi-ch were speedily coming; assuring them 
that He is g'oing away and that they cannot follow Him ; 
exhorting them vehemently to love one another, notify- 
ing them that this would be the mark on them by which 
all the world would know them ; i. e., their brotherly love. 
Here Peter, the senior apostle, interjects, making in- 
quiry ; ^^Lord, why am I not able to follow Thee now ? I 
will lay down my soul for Thee.^^ Matt. 14. 

HE PREDICTS THE FALL OF PETER. 

V. 31. ^^Then Jesus says, you will -all be offended in 
me this night. But Peter responded and said to Him, 
If all be offended in Thee, I will never be offended in 
Thee.^^ Offend here means to backslide, lose confidence 
in Him, go back on Him, et cetera. How startling the 
prediction that they are all going to forsake Him that 
very night. Judas is already gone to betray Him. Dark- 
ness is upon the earth. He has no lodging. It is be- 
lieved that He never did before spend a night in Jerusa- 
lem; as that was the headquarters of His enemies, they 
would have attacked Him^ being afraid of the people in 
daylight. Now the storm is gathering and awful 
things impending. Luke 22 :13. ^'When the Lord said; 
Simon, Simon, behold, Satan sought thee out,to sift thee 
like wheat ; but I prayed for thee, in order that thy faith 
might not fail thee; and thou, when having turned, 
strengthened thy brethren. And he said to Him. Lord, 
I am ready to go with Thee into prison and to death. 



316 Life of Jesus and His Apostles 

And He said^ ''1 say unto 'thee, Peter, the cocks shall not 
crow this day before that thou shalt thrice deny that 

^/ani ;s8Aiou3i noqi^, 
Satan can sift out of us only that which 
belongs to him; i. -e., depravity. Hence if -we are 
true to God, He will even make the devil, along with 
everything else, a blessing to us. Eom. 8 :28. Though 
Jesus was here addressing Peter in person, the pronoun 
after ^"^sift^^ is in the plural number, showing that Satan 
did sift all of them, as we sift wheat to get the filth out; 
for that belongs to Satan, and God will let him have his 
own. Jesus knew that Peter would pass through a ter- 
rii)le ordeal, therefore He made him a special subject of 
prayer. Oh ! how appalling to Peter when Jes^;s tells hiin 
thst before the second crowing of the cock, he will ac- 
tually thrice deny that he knows Him. The balance 
to, are all startled, because He telk them that they will 
all backslide with Him this night. V. 35. "And He said 
to them; when I sent you without purse, valise and san- 
dals, whether did you need anything? And they said, 
N'othing. Then He said to them,, But mow let him that 
hath a purse take it, and the least likewise ; and let him 
that hath no sword sell his eloak and buy one ; for I say 
unto you that it behooveth that this which has been writ- 
ten must be fulfilled in me.^^ And he was numbered 
with the transgresis'ors (Isa. 1:3-12). "For thiose- thing3 
concerning me have an end. And they said; Lord, be- 
hold, here are two s'words. He said to them, It is suffi- 
cient.^^ 

This scripture has 'bewildered the saints of all 
ages, why Jesus commanded them to take the sword. 
If you should once travel in that country, the matter 



The Valedictory Sermon and Prayer. 317 

would furnish its own solution. The Land of Moab, 
Amon and Edom border on the east, while great Arabia 
stretches out two thousajid miles towards sunrise. These 
are the countries settled and inhabited by the wild sons 
of Ishmael and Esau, in reference to whom G-od said, 
^^His hand wouH be against every man^s hand and every 
man^s hand) would" be againsit him.^^ Many of those wild 
men always sojourned in the land; bom robbers, many 
of them depending on the sword and the battle ax for 
their living. When the Eomans exterminated the Jews 
of that country, these wild men of the East came and 
took possession of it and hold it to this day. The Be- 
douint, who boast of their patriarchal blood — ^the lineal 
de-scendiants of Abraham through Ishmuel and Esau — 
do not live in houses, but tents, which they carry with 
them as they roam from place to place with their herds 
and flocks ; always armed, and in war among themselves. 
Travelers in that country this day find it necessary to 
carry arms, not for use, but intimidation. During both 
of my tours in that country, I had an armed dragoman, 
and in the most perilous places, an armed escort. When 
they see arms they are not apt to attack, whereas the ab- 
sence of any protection would be a constant temptation 
to the Bedouins. VlTiile Jesus was with them He pro- 
tected them, but now that He is going to leave them. 
He advises them to carry the sword, evidently for intim- 
idation and not for assault; as you see it illustrated that 
very night in Gethsemane, when Peter drew one of the 
two swords which they had, and Jesus had said was suffi- 
cient, and smote Malchus. Without any visible weap- 
ons, they would frequently have been attacked by rob- 
bers, who were then in that country, as you see in case 



318 Life of Jesus and His Apostles. 

of the traveler, journeying from Jerusalem to Jericho. 
(Luke 10.) 

THE L0RD''S SUPPER. 

The Passover meal has already been eaten, Jesus 
thus winding up that greatest of all symbolic institu- 
tions, after a standing of 1491 years, from its invention 
by Moses, pursuant to Jehovah^s mandate, that venerated 
night in Egypt, when the destroying angel winged his 
flight over all the land of Egypt with a glittering 
sword, hewing down the first born in every home, but 
passing over all the tenements occupied by the children 
of Israel. That wonderful night the nation of Israe) 
yc2iS bom' out •of the s-liackl-es of Egyptian slavery — 
smashed by the destroying angel. Through the flight of 
tliese fifteen centuries, multiplied millions of bleeding 
fembs have typified, in this great annual festival, the 
^Xamb of God that taketh away the sins of the world,'^ 
by His vicarious death. Now the great Anti-type super- 
sedes all the types and shadows which have moved in 
bloody panorama, attracting the gaze and focalizing the 
faith of earth's teeming millions. Matt. 26:26-29. 
^^And while they were eating, Jesus taking bread and 
blessing it, broke it and gave it to His disciples; and 
said. Take, eat, this is my body. And taking the cup and 
giving thanks and saying, Drink ye all of it, for this 
is my blood which belongs to the New Testament, 
shed for many for the remission of sins. And I say un- 
to you that I will no more drink of this fruit of the 
vine, until I may drink the same with you in the king- 
dom of my Father.'' 1 Cor. 11:24. ''Do this in re- 



Ike Valedictory Sermon and Prayer. oil) 

menibrance of rre.'' The Lord's Supper is a little epi- 
tome and remiDiscence of the great Passover, its signifi- 
cation is retrospective, whereas the Passover was pros- 
pective. You see the commandment to observe it is di- 
rect. Co'nsequently it is neither to be discontinued nor 
depre<3iated. You see, it is not only to run on through 
the Gospel Dispensation to the glorious Millennial 
Theocracy; but that when the Lord returns to the earth 
on the throne of His glory, it will receive a grand impe- 
tus and be celebrated through the millennial ages, with 
unprecedented interest, because the Lord Himself, will 
magnify it with His personal presence and participation, 
while multiplied millions of saints, mortal and transfig- 
ured, will, with adoring wonder, participate in this hoI"y 
Eucharist, which will ever perpetuate, in vivid' memory, 
the dying love of our wonderful Savior. Our Lord now 
delivers tiiis beautiful and glorious valedictory ser- 
mon while they are all sitting at the supper table. 
John 14, 15, 16, 17- "Let not your heart be troubled; 
you believe in God, believe also in me.^^ 

They were all deeply troubled because He 
had told them that He was going to leave them. 
He now notifies them that it is time for their 
faith in Him to move up to the same plane 
and parallel as that of the Father, '^n my Fath- 
er's house are many mansions ; if it were not so, I would 
have told you, because I go to prepare a place for you, 
and if I go I will prepare a place for you, and I come 
again and receive you unto myself, in order that where 
I am ye may be also/' 

This is the celestial universe from best information, 
and contains an infinite multiplicity of worlds and one 



320 Life of Jesus and His Apostles. 

hundred and seventeen millions of suns have already 
been discovered^ many of them larger than ours, which is 
a million times the size of this world. Our sun is at- 
tended by ten great worlds, among them Neptune, six- 
ty times as large as the earth, Uranus, eighty times, Sa- 
turn, eleven hund*red times, and Jupiter, fourteen hun- 
dred times as large as this world, which is the lost sheep 
for whose recovery Jesus came down from Heaven. He 
tells us, ^^The meek shall inherit the earth.^^ Matt. 5. So 
this is one of the mansions He is preparing for the oc- 
cupancy of His immortal intelligences. While it will be 
unutterably glorious to visit other worlds, exploring the 
grandeur and beauty of the celestial universe, extending 
oar acquaintance among the unf alien millions of created 
intelligences, who answered the triumphant shout of the 
sons of God on creation^s morn, when the stars sang 
together, as worlds, in their beauty, wheeled out 
from shapeless chaos, yet it will certainly be gloriously 
consolatory to have a home of our own, to which we can 
invite angel visitors. I trow the glorified earth will be 
that home, a trophy of our victory and a reward of our 
fidelity. (V. 4.) 

^^Whither I go, you know the way. Thomas 
says to Him, Lord, we know not whither Thou goest, 
and how do we know t£e way ? Jesus says to him ; T am 
the way, the truth and the life; no one cometh to the 
Pather but through me.^^ This deliverance of our infal- 
lible Lord forever sweeps away all human creeds, sects 
and denominations, leaving us nothing but Jesus. If 
all the people were content to follow Him alone, secta- 
rianism would drop into oblivion, world without end. 
Satan has cursed every holiness movement from the 



The Valedictory Sermon and Prayer. 321 

Apostolic age to the present day, by interjecting human 
leadership ; thus detracting the popular attention from 
Christ, and superinducing endless divisions among 
God's people. If all would follow Jesus only, taking 
the New Testament as their only guide, and the life of 
Jesus as their only model, denominationalism would ut- 
terly and forever evanesce. 

The present holiness movement, like all her pre- 
decessors, is a'wfully afflicted and impeded in her true, 
normal efficiency, by the prominence already givin to 
human leadership and constant development. V. 12. 
'Truly, truly, I say unto you, the one believing on me 
shall do the works which I do, and greater works than 
these shall he do, because I -go to my Father ; and what- 
soever you may ask in my name, ye -shall receive. I do 
this in order that the Father shall be glorified in the 
Son. And if you inay ask me anything in my nam-e, I 
will do it.'' 

On the day of Pentecost greater works were wrought 
in the way of soul saving, than ever before under the 
personal ministry of our Lord. That wonderful and un- 
precedented Pentecostal revival not only shook Jerusa- 
lem from center to circumference, but swept over Judea 
like a cyclone of fire, overran Samaria and shook the 
Gentile world with the momentum of an earthquake. 

The greater efficieu'cy which supervenes after 
Pentecost, originates from the personal presence 
of the Holy Ghost, who is the Spirit of the 
Father and the Son, immortal and invulnera- 
ble, because He has no human body. Besides, He 
has in His command the wonderful, inexhaustible, in- 
fallible, and omnipotent resources of the perfected re- 



322 Life of Jesus and His Apostles. 

demptive scheme, apprehended and appropriated by the 
people through historic faith, which is so infinitely more 
easily exercised than the prophetic faith of the old dis- 
pensation. While Jesus was preaching on the earth, 
though many believed He was the Christ, yet they did 
not know it to absolute certainty, as now, through the 
incontestable resources of history by four inspired wit- 
nesses^ dispensed to us in the New Testament; aug- 
mented and enforced by the personal Holy G-host, illumi- 
nuting, quickening and energizing the human mind and 
spirit, simultaneously, and actually revealing Jesus to 
our spirits, night and day the ^^f airest among ten thous- 
and and all together lovely/^ Under the wonderful re- 
sources of the Holy Ghost and His paradoxical full sal- 
vation, you have nothing to do but ask and receive. 
V. 16. "And I will ask the Father and He will give 
unto you another Comforter in order that He may abide 
with you forever, the spirit of truth, which the world 
is not able to receive, because it does not see Him or 
know Him ; you know Him because He abideth with you 
and shall be in you. I will not leave you orphans,! come 
to you.^^ He had already predicted, three times over, the 
bloody death that awaited Him. Now having thus 
thrice notified them, that His enemies will kill Him; 
He informs them that He is going to send them the 
Holy Ghost, w^hom they cannot kill, thus virtually ren- 
dering Himself immortal in His personal successor. He 
here notified them that the world neither knows, nor 
can know, the Holy Ghost. Eegeneration takes you out 
of the world and sanctification takes the world out of 
you. Je&as was Father to all His disciples while on 
the earth. They are now much grieved over the 



The Valedictory Sermon and Prayer. 323 

thought that He is to be taken away, yet He comforts 
them with the positive promise of His Successor. V. 23. 
Jesus responded and said to him, "If any one loves me 
he will keep my word and my Father will love him. And 
we w'll come to him and make our mansion with him." 
Here we have in this chapter the beautiful differen- 
tiation of the Trinity. In conversion^ the sinner re* 
ceives Jesus, as his atoning Savior. In sanctification the 
Christian receives the personal Holy Ghost, his indwell- 
ing comforter and guide. Now that the whole plan of 
salvation has been consummated by the Son and Spirit, 
and the chasm between God and man, created by the fall, 
gloriously bridged over, man has nothing to do but come 
back to God and sink away into His glorious divinity, 
losing sight of the world, absorbed forever in the con- 
templation of God, henceforth, always indefatigable in 
his zeal for God and the promotion of his glory. This 
third experience, though not essential to full salvation, 
is the most powerful breakwater against apostasy, im- 
parting an unutterable prelibation of heavenly bliss and 
glory. V. 30. "I no longer speak many things with you 
for the Prince of the world cometh and hath nothing in 
me.^^ This is our Lord^s standard of entire sanctifica- 
tion, which eliminates away everything belonging to Sa- 
tan, so that when he comes to us, he finds nothing in us 
belonging to him. "Arise, let us go hence.^^ At this point 
Jesus rises from His seat at the table to go away to 
Gethsemane where His enemies arrested Him that very 
night. Therefore now in the standing posture He pro- 
ceeds to elaborate His beautiful truth in the parable of 
the 



324 Life of Jesus and His Apostles. 

VINE AND THE BRANCHES. 

^^I am the true vine^ and my Father is the Husband- 
man. Every vine in me not bearing fruit He taketh 
away, and every one bearing fruit He cleanseth it that it 
may bear more fruit.^' Here you see that without true 
regeneration you cannot bear spiritual fruit, '^'^love, joy, 
peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, meek- 
ness, faith, temperance/^ Gal. 5 :17. But you 
see that He purifies every branch that beareth 
fruit, in order that it may bear more fruit, while He 
cuts off the non-fruit-bearing branches and burns them. 
Hence we see that hell or holiness awaits every Chris- 
tian. If he does not go on into sanctification, he will 
prove a non-fruit-bearing branch, suffer excision and 
ejectment into the fire. The normal economy of the 
Husbandman in this parable is to cleanse every fruit- 
bearing branch; i. e., sanctify every Christian who is 
bearing holy fruit, that he may bear more and better 
fruit. Hence you see that the soul resisting sianotificar 
tion grieves the Holy Spirit and suffers am-putation 
from Christ, who is the true vine. 

y. 5. "I am the Vine, ye are the branches. He 
that abideth in Me and I in him, the same beareth much 
fruit, because without Me you are not able to do any- 
thing. If any one may not abide in Me, he is cast forth 
like a branch and is utterly withered, and they gather 
it and cast it into the fire, and it is burned.^^ 

As the good angels gathered aroamd Lazarus and 
carried his disembodied soul to Abraham^s bosom, so the 
demons take possession of every lost soul and cast it 
into hell fire. 



The Valedictory Sermon and Prayer, 325 

V. 7. ^^f j^ou abide in me and my words abide in 
you, ask whatsoever you wish and it shall be done unto 
you/^ As you see here, the normal economy is, that 
souls who do not bear holy fruit are taken away and cast 
into hell fire; hence, fruit-bearing is the indispensable 
condition of abiding in Christ. 

'Now remember, that He cleanseth all fruit-bearing 
tranches, that the fruit may be more abundant and of a 
better quality. Hence you see it is impossible to abide 
permanently in. Christ, without this cleansing, which so 
much improves the fruit in quality and in quantity. 
Therefore Fletcher says, ^^It is impossible to he a Chris- 
tian, unless you are either already perfect, or vigorously 
pressing towards iV^ 

V. 11. ^T have spoken these things to you, that my 
joy may be in you, and your joy may be full.^^ This 
fulness of joy, which He wants to give all His saints, 
is our Savior^s own joy. IST. B. He never had the joy 
of pardoned sin, because He never had any sins to be 
pardoned; but He always had the joy of a pure heart. 
Hence you see you must reach the experience of purity 
before you can ever have the graces of the Spirit as they 
existed in the heart of Jesus. He is our Paragon ; there- 
fore, we are to have all the graces as He had them. 

V. 16. ^TTou have not chosen me, but I have chosen 
you, and put you forth, that you may go and bear fruit, 
and you may go and abide, in order that whatsoever you 
ask the Father in my name. He may give it unto you.^^ 
In this verse eiheeka is ^^ordained^^ ; in E. V. Also^ 
epoisese, ^^made^^ (Mark 3:14), and cheirotoneesantes, 
^^appointing.^^ (The simple meaning of the Greek is', 
^^reaching forth the hand''^ — the manner in which they 



326 Life of Jesits and His Apostles. 

elected the elders.) These are 'the omly wordis translated 
"ordained^^ in N.T., where it is thought to have reference 
to, and authenticate, the modem church ordination. 
While such ordination is innocent and unobjectionable, 
if not made the instrument of ecclesiastical 'tyranny, you 
see plainly the u/tter absence of such an institution as 
ordination in the New Testament. All you can find' on 
that line was where the Corinthian Church gathered 
around Paul and Barnabas, laid handlg on them, and 
consecrated them for the missionary work which lay out 
before them. This, in their case, really had no ecclesias- 
tical signification, as they were both already apostles; 
but the simple end in view was to augment their efficien- 
cy as soul suvers by the simple invocation of the Holy 
Ghost on them. Thousands of good preachers now in 
the holiness movement are without the modem •ecclesi- 
astical ordination,and not to be depreciated an iota on ac-- 
count; of this lack. When the saints gather around theiUt 
lay hand's on them and pray for them, they receive all 
the ordination known in the New Testament. Jesu* 
gives to His disciples the wonderful promise that the 
Father will grant whatsoever they may ask in His name. 
Hence we see the gospel resources are absolutely illim- 
itable. 

V. 18. ^If the world hates you, know that it first 
hated me.^^ The world was utterly disgusted with Jesus ; 
not only hated Him, but cruelly killed Him. The same 
bloody ordeal followed His disciples, killing a hundred 
millions. Hence the irreconcilable antagonism which 
has prevailed between the Church and the world in all 
ages. It is pertinent here to observe that the earth is 
filled with counterfeit churches at the present day, which 



The Valedictory Sermon and Prayer. 327 

provake no hostility from the world, from the simple 
fact that they are homogeneous. 

Ch. 16 :10. ^^I have spoken these things to yon that 
you may not he offend/ed^^ ; i. e., shaken and unsettled in 
your faith. "They will put you out of the synagogues, 
but the hour cometh when everyone killing may think 
that he is rendiering service to God.^^ This prophecy of 
our Savior has been most copiously fulfilled in by-gon« 
ages. Millions of the truest saints that ever lived have 
been slaughtered in the name of Jesus. The Spanish 
pion-eera of America, at one time, had a vow on them to 
kill twelve Indians per day, in honor of the twelve apos- 
tles. Many sanctified people at the present day are 
turned out of the church ; i. e., put out of the synagogue. 
The present age is probably equal to any preceding, 

LATTER DAY PROPHECIES. 

Ch. 16 :7. "But I speak the truth to you : It is profi- 
ta'ble to you for me to go away: for if I go not away, 
the Comforter will not come to you: If I go away, I 
will send Him to you.^^ It was necessary for Jesus to 
complete the work of redemption and die on the cross, 
^ thus expiating the guilt of a lost worldi, perfectly sat- 
isfying the violated law, before the Holy Ghost could 
perfectly do His work in the capacity of Comforter, as 
He must utilize our intellects in the dispensation of 
consolation. The Holy Grhost was always in the world, 
but dependent on the expiatory and reconciliatory work 
of Christ. Therefore, that work must be literally and 
actually complete^d before He could fully dispense com- 
fort to a soul wrecked and ruined by the fall. The word 



328 Life of Jesus and His Apostles. 

parakletos (comforter) is deeply significant^ as it is 
from Tcalevo (to call)^ andi para (by) ; therefore it means 
one called! to stand by your side. 

V. 8. ^^And having come^ He will convict the world 
concerning sin^ and concerning righteousness, and con- 
cerning condemnation. Concerning sin, indeed, because 
they do not believe in me ; concerning righteousness, be- 
cause I go to the Father and you see me no more ; and 
concerning condemnation, because (the prince of this 
world has been condemned^^^ Conviction is the great 
work of the Holy Ghost, who is really the pioneer of all 
experimental grace. Unbelief is the only condemnatory 
sin, as all others are swept away by faith. The very 
fact that the people all know that Jesus has been on the 
earth, and that He ascended up to heaven and they see 
Him no more, is a demonstrative proof that God has 
accepted the atonement, which He came into the world 
to make. Therefore, the people who do not believe on 
Him for free and full salvation are without excuse. The 
very fact that the eternal and irreversible condemnation 
of the devil has already gone forth, is confirmatory proof 
that all who remain with him must abide his condem- 
nation and eternal destiny. Every sinner is literally in 
the hands of the devil, and can only escape by the re- 
deeming grace of Christ, administered with the power 
of the Holy Ghost. 

V. 12. ^^I still have m'any things to speak to you, 
but you are not able to hear them now.^^ They needed 
the baptism of the Holy Ghost and fire to qualify them 
to take in the deep things of God, afterward to be re- 
vealed 'by the Holy Ghost. 

V. 13. ''And when He, the Spirit of Truth, may 



The Valedictory Sermon and Prayer. 329 

«)ine, He will guide you in all truth: for He will not 
speak of Himself; but He will speak, and will pro- 
claim /to you the things which are to come/' After Je- 
sus had spoken to them the gospels, the Holy Ghost came 
and revealed the Acts of the Apostles, all of the epistles, 
and Eevelation, which is strictly a book of prophecy. 

V. 14. ^^He will glorify me because He will receive 
from mine, and He will proclaim it unto you.'' The 
.Holy Ghost is really the* Spirit of Jesus. When they 
killed Him, He came back to the world in the person 
of the Holy 'Ghost. If the Holy Ghost had a mortal 
body, the fallen church would kill Him. But as He 
has no human body. He is invulnerable and immortal. 

Vs. 20-22. 'Truly, truly, I say unto you, that you 
shall weep and mourn and the world will rejoice: you 
will weep, but your weeping will he turned into joy. A 
woman, when she may bring forth, hath grief, because 
her hour has come: hut when the little child may be 
born, she no longer remembers her trouble, on account 
of joy because a man was bom into the world. You now 
have sorrow, but again I will see you and your heart 
will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you.^^ 
The similitude of the woman^s imparturition is at once 
strong and striking. The death pangs of the ante-dilu- 
vian worlds amid the awful sufferings of the flood, was 
the parturition of the post-diluvian world, to revive 
and flourish and populate the whole earth again. Amid 
the unutterable horrors of the bloody Eoman wars, 
wherein a million of people fell by the sword, pestilence 
and fam'ine, and a million more were sold into slavery, 
rang out the dying groans of the Jewish dispensation. 



330 Life of Jesus and His Apostles. 

which ushered into the world the glorious era of the 
heavenly kingdom. 

When the Gentile dispensation goes down amid the 
death agonies of the tribulation, the glorious millennial 
will sweep in. 

y. 23. ^^n that day you will ask me for nothing; 
truly, truly, I say unto you, if you ask the Father for 
anything. He will give it in my name. Until now you 
have asked nothing in my name : ask, and) you shall re- 
ceive, in order that your joy shall be fuH.^^ 

Before Jesus was actually crucified and risen, the 
fact of His Messiahship was not confirmed beyond the 
possibility of a doubt; consequently they did not pray 
in His name, but directly to God. Now that He is in 
the very act of consummating the expiatory work and 
making the vicarious atonement a fixture forever, and 
when He shall have entered upon His intercessory office 
at God'^s right hand, then the way will be perfectly clear 
and they will have nothing to do buit ask the Father in 
His name, and everything will be granted. Therefore, 
He is setting forth to His disciples the necessity of His 
vicarious atonement and glorious intercession, destined 
so speedily to be perfected hefore their eyes, whereby 
the f uU-or^bed kingdom of God), in <the economy of gospel 
grace, will have been clearly launched out into the world. 

V. 25. ^^I have spoken to you in parables; but the 
hour Cometh when I will no longer speak to you in para- 
bles, but openly will I proclaim to you concerning the 
Father.'' The Bible is all gospel. The Old Testament 
is the gospel in sym'bol. Jesus preached the gospel in 
paraibles; the Acts of the Apostles is the gospel in his- 



The Valedictory Sermon and Prayer. 331 

tory; the Epistles are the gospel in "experience; while 
Eevelation is the gospel in prophecy. 

V. 26. "In that day you shall a&k in my name : and 
I do not say to you, that I will ask the Father concern- 
ing you; for the Father himself loves you^ because you 
have loved me, and have helieved that I came out from 
God/^ He gives them a double consdlation with refer- 
ence to their petitions; i. e., that they can pray directly 
to Him, and also to the Father, who loves Ihem, so that 
He will surely answer their petitions. Xot only does 
Jesus love a lost world, so that He came and died for 
us all, but the Father so loved the world that He gave 
His only begotten Son to die, that whosoever bedi-eveth 
on Him should not perish, but have eternal life (John 
3:16). 

V. 28. "I came out from the Father, and I have 
come into the world: again, I leave the world, and I 
go to the Father.^^ Here Jesus plainly tells His apostles 
the great facts of the redemptive scheme : His exit from 
heaven, expiatory atonement, and His return thither. 

V. 32. "Behold, the hour cometh, and has already 
com-e, that you may be dispersed abroad, each one to his 
own place, and leave me alone.^^ This prophecy was 
fulfilled within three hours from that time, when all the 
disciples deserted Him in Gethsemane. 

V. 33. "But take courage, because I have conquered 
the world/^ This is spoken prophetically in vivid antic- 
ipation of what was coming within the next thirty-four 
hours. 

VALEDICTORY PRAYER. 

Chapter 17, vs. 9, 10. "I pray for these : I do not 



332 Life of Jesus and His Apostles, 

pray for the world, but for those whom thou hast given 
lue; because thej^ are thine, and all mine are thine, and 
thine are mine; andi I have been glorified in them.'^ 
Sanctifi'cation marries us to the Lord. So, pursuant to 
the well-known divine law of matrimonial unification, 
all ours are His, and His are ours; and we are one in 
Him. We here see that sanctification is not for the 
world. Consequently, simiers cannot get it, as it is 
simply God-'s gift to His children, 

V. 12. ^'\^Tien I was with them, I bept them through 
ihy name, whom thou hast given me: and) I guarded 
them, and no one of them perished, except the son of de- 
struction, in order that the Scriptures may be fulfilled.'^ 
Judas is already gone away from them, and is now en- 
gaged in his interview with the chief priests, making 
arrangements to come for Him that very night. "Son 
of perdition^^ does not convey the idea of predestination, 
but is a peculiar Orientalism, simply indicating the fact 
that he was destroyed. 

V. 14. "I have given unto them thy word; and the 
world hated them because they are not of the world, as 
I am not of the 'wor'H.'^ Here we see the striking homo- 
geneity peculiar to the kingdom which Jesus set up. 
As He was utterly heterogeneous to this fallen world, so 
His followers, by the great salvation which He gives, 
are not only like Him, but so unlike the world that the 
normal sequence of true disicipleship in all ages has been 
the hatred of the world, provoked and' concentrated on 
them, as in case of their Leader. 

V. 15. "I do not pray that you may take them out 
of the world, but that you may keep them from the evil 
ODie^^ ; i. e., the dfevil. If the Lord were to take all of His 



The Valedictory Sermon and Prayer. 333 

saints out of the worlds He would' thus leave it in dark- 
ne-^s, black as the midnight of hell, with no hope, but 
destined to the dismal dioom of the ante-diluvians and 
Sodom andi Goinorrah. . 

Here we see that it is our glorious privilege, not only 
to have victory over the devil, but also to get rid of him 
altogether — a thing apparently almost unknown among 
the people of God; who on the contrary seem to think it 
impossible to get rid of Satan in this life. 

V. 17. ^"^Sanctify them through thy truth : thy word 
is truth/^ Here we see that we are all to get sanctified 
through the word of the Lord, which is the imstrumental 
cause of sanctification ; while the Holy Spirit is the ef- 
ficient cause; and the cleansing blood, the divine 
elixir by which the cleansing is wrought, under the ap- 
plication of the Holy Spirit. Meanwhile, faith is the 
conditional cause. 

V. 19. ^Tor their sakes I san'ctify myself, in order 
that they themselves may be sanctified through the 
truth.^^ Sanetify is from gee (the world), and. alpha 
(not) ; hence it means to take the world out of you. 
I. John 2 :16 tells us ^'AU this is the world, the lust of 
the flesh, the lust of the eye, and the prid^e of lif e'^ ; i. e., 
the unholy trinity — the carnal mind. Xow how could 
Jesus sanctify Him-self, when He had neither inbred sin, 
nor the carnal mind? You must understand that His 
sanctification was not experimental, like ours, but le- 
galistic. He had taken on himself the sins of the whole 
world, Ib order to relieve the world-, that they might 
come to Him and get saved. So He really, in a legal 
sense, carried the sin of the world till He died under the 
law ; thus paying His penalty, and satisfying it forever. 



334 Life of Jesus and His Apostles. 

H.en'ce the crucifixion of Jesus was His sanctificatioii in 
this legalistic sense ; having received personal sanctifica- 
tion when the Holy Ghost descended and filled Him on 
Jordan^s bank. 

Vs. 20-23. "I not only pray for these, but for those 
who believe on me through the word; in order that 
they may all be one, as Thou, Father, art in me, and I 
in Thee, in order that they may be in us : in order that 
the world may believe that thou hast sent me. And I 
have given unto them the glory which Thou hast given 
unto me, in order that they may be one as we are one : 
I in them, and Thou in me, in ordfer that they may be 
perfected into one: in order that the world may know 
that Thou hast sent me, and Thou hast loved them as 
Thou hast loved me.^^ Here you see the normal effect 
of sanctification is to unify us with Jesus, by eliminat- 
ing all sin out of us. And, as He here assures us, uni- 
fication with Him is union with God. Here you also 
see (v. 23) the synonym of perfection with sanctifica- 
tion, as He in this prayer uses them synonymously. 

Sanctification is from sanctus (holy) and fio (to 
miake), meaning to make you holy; while perfection is 
from per (complete) and fio (to make), meaning to 
make complete. Sanctification makes you complete in 
Christ, while perfection means the same. Here we see 
that our Savior actually winds up His ministry with a 
sermon on sanctification, and a prayer that all His 
disciples in all ages might receive it. Oh, what wonder- 
ful encouragement we all have in this sermon and prayer, 
eternally sweeping away all doubt as to the willingness 
of God to sanctify you wholly this very moment! 

This word sanctify (v. 17) is in the aorist tense, im- 



The Valedictory Sermon and Prayer. 335 

perative mood, hence it means to do this work instanta- 
n^eous'ly and completely; leaving us all without the sol- 
itary vestige of an excuse, from the simple fact that 
God^s omnipotence is pledged in the matter. There i?, 
therefore, no room left for dou'bt. God has willed it; 
Christ has died to procure it ; the Holy Ghost is present 
to administer it ; while the Bible is our infallible guide- 
book, lying on every center-table. 

THE PROSECUTION. 

He has wound up that glorious farewell sermon and 
memorable valedictory prayer, standing at the supper 
table, in that notable upper chamber on Mt. Zion, in 
the west end of the city. He walks out, accompanied by 
the eleven disciples, Judas having gone away and joined 
the enemy. They journey through the city eastward, 
pass out through the sheep gate, as it was then called, 
but now it is cognomened St. Stephen^s Gate, because it 
is said that the mob dragged him out through it, and 
stoned him to death a short distance east of it, on the 
slope of Mt. Moriah. Pursuing their journey eastward- 
ly, they cross the valley of Jehoshaphat, and descend Mt. 
Olivet, a very short distance, till they enter the Park 
Grethsemane, whither Jesus had frequently resorted with 
His disciples. It contains a goodly number of olive 
trees, said to be the same which were there in our Sa- 
vior^s time, tradition even going back and certifying that 
they were there in the day^ of Abraham, and that he 
frequently sat under them. When we consider the fact 
that the olive tree in that country lives a thousand 
yearS; and then only dies albove groundi, the roots surviv- 



336 Life of Jesus and His Apostles. 

ing, sending up sprouts which grow to be trees^ thus per- 
petuating their progenitor ; and these trees now in Geth- 
semane are about forty feet in circumference at the 
ground^ several trunks standing on every root^ it becomes 
exceedingly plausible that these are the identical olive 
trees under which Jesus and His disciples used to sit as 
He talked to them about the kingdom ; and more than 
likely that they were there in the days of Abraham. An 
Oriental garden is what we call a park. The 
word ^^Gethsemane^^ means oil-press, because they manu- 
factured olive oil from the fruits growing there. 

THE AGONY. 

Matt. 26 :37. ^^And taking Peter and the two sons of 
Zebedee, he began to weep and to be dejected. He then 
says to them. My soul is exceedingly sorrowful unto 
death : abide here and watch with me ; and going for- 
ward a little space, He fell on His face praying, and say- 
ing. My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from 
me; moreover, not as I wish, but as Thou. 

Luke 22 :43. ^"^And an angel from heaven appeared 
to Him strengthening Him. And being in agony He 
continued to pray the more earnestly. And His sweat 
was like drops of blood falling down upon the ground. 
And rising from His prayer, having come to His dis- 
ciples. He found them sleeping from weariness, and He 
said to them. Why do you sleep? Arising, pray that you 
may not enteT into temptation.^^ Matthew and Ma '' 
here say the ^^spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is 
weak.^^ Vast perplexity has prevailed among exegetes 
with Feference to the agony, because of the fact that 



The Valedictory Sermon and Prayer. 337 

multiplied millions of His followers have walked cour- 
ageously into the devouring flames and into the Colise- 
um while the lions were deafening the multitudes with 
their awful roar^ the ejaculation of their voracious hun- 
ger, ready in a moment to devour them in their blood. 
The solution is the simple fact that He had upon His 
spotless soul all the mountains of sin ever committed 
from the days of Cain the fratricide, till the latest gen- 
eration of Adam^s ruined race, the Father at that time 
laying them upon Him, pursuant to the covenant of re- 
demption, into which He entered before the foundation 
of the world. The divinity could not suffer ; the humanity 
did all the suffering, His human will acquiescing in the 
bloody death of the cross. Therefore, it is utterly im- 
pertinent to compare Him with the martyrs, who are 
free as birds of Paradise, because He had carried all 
their sins and all their burdens ; but there was no one 
to carry His. Therefore no tongue can tell, nor imagi- 
nation conceive, the horrors of this agony. We see noth- 
ing of it when they tore His flesh to pieces in the scourg- 
ing at Pilate^s bar and nailed Him to the cross, from the 
simple fact that His human will had fought the battle 
in Gethsemane and perfectly submitted to the dreadful 
ordeal. We observe that God answered His prayex in the 
mission of an angel from Heaven, who strengthened 
Him in that awful hour. 

Matt. 26:43. /'And having come He finds them 
asleep again, for their eyes were heavy.''^ They were 
stout, muscular men, inured to hard, physical toil, con- 
sequently sleep came on them with a sudden relaxation ; 
yet it was exeeedingly important that they keep awake, 
because that ruffian army, led by Judas and the chief 



338 Life of Jesus and His Apostles. 

priests, was then on their track, hotly pursuing them, 
and He sees that they are very near them; hence the 
danger of sudden affright and precipitation, the tempta- 
tion against which He had warned them. 

V. 44. '^^Leaving them, having gone away. He prayed 
the third time, speaking the same word. Then He comes 
to His disciples and &ays to them. Sleep on and take your 
re&t. Behold, the hour has come and the Son of Man is 
betrayed into the hands of sinners. Arise, let us' go : be- 
hold, the one having betrayed me is at hand.^^ By this 
time the groves of Gethsemane are illuminated with a 
hundred flambeaux flaming in the air, and though the 
full moon was shining in her glory, the augmentation of 
these artificial lights made it bright as day. It was ex- 
ceedingly important to have an abundance of light in 
making an arrest which they had been seeking three 
years, and on which they felt that the vast moment of 
the theocracy and hierarchy was hanging. There was 
great liability to be mistaken. They much feared that 
His friends might maneuvre to put off on them some 
other person, and fool them with Him, in which ca^e 
their labor would all be in vain. So when the light pours 
into Gethsemane, He immediately speaks to His disci- 
ples : "Else up and let us be going^^ ; i. e., go out from 
the dense shade of the great olive trees into the clear 
light of the moon and the flambeaux. 

HE IS ARRESTED. 

John 18 :2-12. "And Judas, the one having betrayed 
Him, knew the place, because Jesus frequently resorted 
thither with His disciples. Then Judas, having taken 



The Valedictory Sermon and Prayer, 339 

the band and the officers from the chief priests and Phar 
isees, comes thither with lanterns, torches and arms/' 

Matt. 26 :47.56. ''And he still speaking; behold, Ju- 
das, one of the twelve, came and with him a great multi- 
tude with swords and clubs, from the chief priests and 
elders of the people/^ 

John 18 'A. "Then Jesus, knowing all things coming 
upon Him, having come out, said to them, \\Tiom do 
j'ou seek ? They responded to Him, Jesus the Nazarene. 
Jesus says to them, I am He. They departed backward 
and fell upon the ground. Then again He asked them, 
Whom do you seek? And they said Jesus, the i^aza- 
rene. Jesus responded, I said to you that I am He: if 
then you seek me, let these depart, in order that the word 
which He spoke might he fulfilled. Those whom thou 
hast p-iven unto me, I have lost no one of them."'^ 

Now, the armed rabble, led by Judas and the chief 
priests, has arrived in Gethsemane. Jesus leads the way, 
unhesitatingly walking out to them and saying to them, 
Whom do you seek ? The answer comes promptly, Jesus, 
the Xazarene. ^\Tiat a wonderful enigma in this dark, 
wicked., s'elfish world was Jesus ! They had frequently 
come to crown Him King. He always fled away. Now 
they come to kill Him : He goes' promptly to meet them. 
A great difference between Him and all other men, con- 
sisted in the fact that He actually knew everything that 
was coming on Him. In His Gethsemane agony, He 
saw all the horrors of bloody Calvary. Now, when He 
turns on them that face which they have often beheld. 
now rendered luminous by the flambeaux, so they know 
they cannot be mistaken as to His identity (all of which 
He confirms by His positive confession), an awful af- 



340 Life of Jesus and His Apostles. 

fright seizes the blood-thirsty rabble. It chills them 
with the horrors of a nightmare, bewildering and appal- 
ling them. A panic sweeps them, and overwhelms 
them, they step backward, stumble and fall in piles on 
the ground like dead men. Our Lord's divinity had 
often delivered Him from His enemies, from the time 
of their first murderous assault at Nazareth till this, 
the last moment of divine intervention in His behalf. 
Henceforth the powers of darkness prevail. Judas had 
often seen them try to arrest Him, when suddenly ren- 
dering Himself invisible, they are left in their bewilder- 
ment. I do not believe Judas thought they could kill 
Him. Having yielded to Satan's money-order, he con- 
cluded to sell Him out for the fifteen dollars (the full 
price of a grown slave in that age, when the scarcity of 
money made the financial estimate quite low) ; when, 
I trow, he said, "I have gotten your money and complied 
with my part of the contract, now get Him if you can." 
I trow Judas believed in His divinity to such an extent 
that he did not believe that they could kill Him. This 
is confirmed by his subsequent deportment. When he 
saw that they were killing Him, see how he repented. 
threw down the money, and even committed suicide. 

So now having recovered from their panic, they rise 
and come at Him again, when He says, ^^Whom do you 
seek?'' They respond, ^^ Jesus, the Nazarene.'' He an- 
swers, ''I am He/' Matt. 26 :48. ''The one having be- 
trayed Him gave them a sign, saying, Whom I shall kiss 
is He; hold Him fast. And immediately coming for- 
ward to Jesus, he said, Hail, Master! and kissed Him 
copiously. And Jesus said to him, Comrade, for what 
are you here? Then coming forward, they laid hands 



The Valedictory Sermon and Prayer, 341 

on Jesus and bound Him/' John 18:12. "Then the 
band and chiliarch and the officers of the Jews took 
Jesus and bound Him/' 

Three years they have been after Him constantly; 
and despite all they can do, they have signally failed to 
get their hands on Him. Now they are determined to 
make sure work of it. Therefore, not only the chiliarch 
(an officer over a thousand), but also the officers of the 
chief priests and scribes; yea, the whole band, waive 
every other consideration and unite in His capture. 
They bind Him securely, feeling that it is the victory 
of their lives finally to arrest and bind and secure as a 
prisoner a Man who has given them and, as they feel, 
the whole country, so much trouble. 

V. 10. "Then Simon Peter, having a sword, drew it 
and smote the servant of the chief priest and cut off 
his right ear. And the name of that servant was Mal- 
chus. Then Jesus said to Peter, Put the sword into the 
scabbard: the cup which my Father has given to me, 
shall I not drink it?'^ Luke 22:50. ^^And Jesus, re- 
sponding, said. Hold on a minute; and touching his 
ear, He healed him.'' He had wrought many hundreds 
and thousands of miraculous healings. Xow this is 
His valedictory on that line of Plis wonderful benefac- 
tions. Such is the tender and quick sympathy of His 
unfallen human spirit, that He cannot forbear to leave 
the poor, suffering soldier minus his ear. 

You remember, the apostles had two swords with 
them. Peter leaps to the conclusion that this is the 
time for sword exercise. He was very characteristic 
of natural bravery, actually heroic enough 'to fight that 
whole army. You see, he aimed at the soldier's head; 



342 Life of Jesus and His Apostles. 

the stroke would have killed him instantaneously, then 
he would have taken them as they came. While Peter 
was endowed with redouhtahle physical heroism, he, 
like all others, was a spiritual coward till the fires of 
Pentecost came on him and burnt up his depravity. 

Matt. 26 :53. "Do you not think that I am able now 
to call upon my Father, and He will give me more than 
twelve legions of angels? How, then, may the Scrip- 
tures be fulfilled, because thus it behooveth to be?^^ 
That vast army of angels was then hovering over Geth- 
semane, just waiting a word from their Father, per- 
mitting them to dart down in the twinkling of an eye* 
snatch Him up and bear Him away to bright glory. 

I^ow Jesus rebukes the diabolical rabble by remind- 
ing them that He had not been teaching the people ia 
secret, but in the Holy Campus, the resort of the myri- 
ads. Why, then, are they come to take Him with an 
army, and swords, and clubs? But it is a fulfillment 
of prophecy. 

Mark 14:15. ^^And all leaving Him fled away.'' 
At this time, the circle opened for an outlet (as they 
had surrounded Him), and all the disciples fled away. 
The enemy thus permitted them to escape, as they pre- 
ferred to have none but Jesus on their hands till they 
disposed of Him. He had been an eyesore to them these 
three years, so they are exultant at the idea of getting 
rid of Him at any cost. 

V. 51. "And a certain young man followed Him, 
clothed with a linen garment on his naked body; the 
young men take him, and he, leaving the linen garment, 
fled from them in a state of nudity.^' History says this 
young man, who at that fatal moment when they all fled. 



The Valedictory Sermon and Prayer. 343 

followed Jesus as He was led by His enemies out of 
Gethsemane, was none other than the Apostle John^ 
who fled away to the house of Eabbiamos in the Metrop- 
olis. There he procured the robe of a Jewish priest, in- 
vested in which he returned, took his place by the side 
of Jesus, being mistaken by the soldiers for a priest; 
and though known to Caiaphas, the high priest, (and as 
the Greek infers, akin to him), he did not reveal his 
identity to him, but permitted him to walk along by the 
side of Jesus, stand by Him before the . Sanhedrim, at 
Pilate^s bar, Herod^s judgment hall, walk ^ith Him up 
Calvary, and stand by Him through the six awful hours 
He hung on the cross. This episode of historic tradi- 
tion in reference to John is confirmed by his recognized 
presence at the cross, when Jesus commended His mother 
to him. 

Luke 22 :53. ^^ut this is your hour, and the power 
of darkness.^^ Jesus spoke this to His enemies at the 
time that they came with the army and took Him cap- 
tive, reminding them of their s-ignal failures for three 
entire years, when He was accessible, standing before 
their eyes day after day in the open air of the Temple 
Campus ; but now He says to them, ^This is your hour, 
and the power of darkness'.^^ The very powers of hell 
had then been permitted to come to the front of the 
world, lay violent hands on its King and lead Him away 
to death. 

PETER^S DENIAL. 

John 18 :13. "They led Him first to Annas, for he 
was the father-in-law of Caiaphas, who was high priest 
that year. And Caiaphas was the one counseling the 



344 Life of Jesus and His Apostles, 

Jews that it was better that one man should die for the 
people. During both of my visits to Jerusalem, I was 
in the house of Caiaphas. It is a great, Oriental quad- 
rangular edifice, like all other houses in Jerusalem, con- 
structed of solid stone, consolidated by cement, which 
in that country gets hard as rock. The tribunal of An- 
nas and the judgment hall of the Sanhedrim were in 
this same house. At that time there was a controversy 
between the Jews and the Eomans in reference to the 
high prie'Blhood, the latter claiming it for Annas, and 
the forme:? ffor Caiaphas. Now it is midnight and im- 
possible to command a full Sanhedrim, therefore they 
spend the time prosecuting Him at the tribunal of An- 
nas, moving 'Eventually to the judgment seat of Caia- 
phas. 

jSTow, you see the whereabouts of the twelve : Judas 
is present with the enemies; John under the disguise of 
a Jewish priest; Peter following on at a distance, while 
the other nine have fled away from Gethsemane, dis- 
persed, and their whereabouts unknown. 

V. 15. ^^Simon Peter and the other disciple followed 
Jesus, and that disciple was known to the high priest 
and came into the court of the high priest with Jesus. 
And Peter stood at the door without. Then the other 
disciple came out, who was known to the high priest, 
and spoke to the female porter and led in Peter. And 
the servants and officers, having made a fire, stood by it, 
because it was cold, and they were warming themselves."'^ 
The Orientals do not protect themselves from the cold 
by clothing, as we do. Schedule time gives this April 
12, when the nights get quite cold as the small hour^ 
come on. This great quadrangular building had an in- 



The Valedictory Sermon and Prayer. 345 

terior open court, for light and ventilation. In this the 
soldiers and servants came and built a fire. When 
Peter comes to the door, John goes back, intercedes with 
the v/oman porter, prevailing on her to let him in. So, 
having entered, he is now sitting in the midst of the 
servants and officers and warming by the fire. 

V. 17. Then the female door-keeper says to Peter. 
*^Are you not of the disciples of that Man ?'^ He says, ^*I 
am not.^^ You remember how Jesus that very night at 
the supper table told Peter that he would thrice deny 
Him before the second crowing of the cock. 

Mark, v. 18. ^^And he went out into the portico and 
the cock crew. And the maidservant, seeing him again, 
began to say to tho^e standing by, that this one is of 
them. And again he denied.^^ So this is his second de- 
nial, after leaving the fire in the open court and coming 
into the portico in front of the judgment hall, where the 
trial is in progress. 

John, V. 26. ^^One of the servants of the high priest, 
being a kinsman of the one whose ear Peter cut off, says 
to him. Did I not see thee with Him in the garden ? 
Then again Peter denied, and immediately the cock 
crew.^^ So here you see the three denials of Peter ; the 
first while warming by the fire in the open court and 
accosted by the damsel door-keeper, who had doubtless 
frequently seen him with Jesus, so that she identified 
his person. Having evaded the issue by a positive denial 
and come into the portico, after two hours the damsel 
again accused him of comradeship with Jesus. It is 
now the first crowing of the chickens, and Peter denies 
again. Two hours more have rolled away, and the cousin 
of Malchus espies and identifies him; pressing him 



346 Life of Jesus and His Apostles. 

closely^ he charges him with personal presence in the 
garden^ where he did his best to kill his kinsman. 

Mark 14 :71. "And Peter began to anathematize and 
swear^ I do not know that Man of whom you are speak- 
ing/^ The popular idea that Peter here indulged iu 
profanity is utterly untrue. The word anathematizein 
(curse — E. V.), simply means to pronounce an anathe- 
ma. The fact is^ Peter confirmed his denial by invok- 
img a calamity on himself (e. g., I wish I may die if I 
know that Man)^ while the word translated swear, 
means simply an oath of affirmation ; e. g,, swearing by 
the temple^ et cetera. Peter^s case here is bad enough 
in the simple fact, whereas the popular idea that he gave 
way to profanity and blasphemy^ is simply untrue. That 
he lied awfully and outrageously, and augmented the lie 
by self-anathematization, and an. oath of affirmation is 
true, and awfully bad. 

Luke V. 60. "And immediately he, still speaking, 
the cock crew. The Lord, turning, looked upon Pexer. 
And Peter remem'bered the word of the Lord as He 
spoke to him, that 'before the cock crows you will deny 
me thrice. And Peter, having gone out, wept bitterly.^^ 
Mark, v. 72. "And Peter remembered the word that 
Jesus spoke to him. Before the cock crows twice you 
will deny me thrice. And having cast himself forth, he 
continued to weep.^^ The second shows up the fact that 
while Peter was facing the cousin of Malchus, and so 
stoutly denying that he knew Him, and at the same time 
confirming that denial by anathematization and an oath 
of affirmation, at that very moment the cock crows the 
second time, reminding Peter of his Lord^s prophecy at 
the supper table, that he will thrice deny Him before 



The Valedictory Sermon and Prayer, 347 

the second crowing. The portico^ where Peter is stand* 
ing, is den&e'ly crowded with people^, looking on the trial 
which is going on before Annas and Caiaphas. Methinks 
a slight movement among the bystanders now gives Pe- 
ter a momentary view of Jesus^ who turns Hs face on 
him and breaks his heart. Naw a Niagara of conviction 
pours down on him, he gets away with all possible expe- 
dition, his eyes flowing like rivers; yields to the over- 
whelming penitential tide, gives way to bitter weeping, 
and. continues to weep. 

JESUS IS CONDEMNED BY CAIAPHAS AND THE SANHEDRIM. 

John 18 :19. ^Then the high priest asked Jesus con- 
cerning His disciples and concerning His doctrine. Je- 
sus responded to him : I openly spoke to the world. I 
always taught in the s}Tiagogue and in the Temple, 
where all the Jews assemble; I spoke nothing in secret; 
why do you ask me? Ask those who have heard what I 
said unto them : behold, they know the things which I 
said. He, having spoken these things, one of the chief 
priests standing by gave Jesus a stroke with his staff, 
saying, Do you thus respond to the high priest? Jesu^ 
responded to him. If I spoke wickedly, testify concern- 
ing the wickedness ; but if truly, why do you smite me ? 
Then Annas sent Him bound to Caiaphas, the high 
priest. This was dastardly, cowardly in the high priest, 
to attempt to force Him to testify against Himself. 
Criminal courts never resort to it when they have any 
other source of legal testimony; and when they do, it 
ranks in law as the weakest of all evidence. So it wa? 
preposterously pusillanimous on the part of the high 



348 Life of Jesus and Ills Apostles, 

priest to call on Jesus #to testify concerning His teach- 
ing, when all Jerusalem, Judea and Galilee were wit- 
nesses to it, and he had nothing to do but to ask th'^m. 

Luke 22 \QQ. "And when it was day, the eldership of 
the people, the chief priests and s-cribes, led Him into 
the Sanhedrim/^ The arrest took place about midnight. 
They have used all the time prosecuting Him before An- 
nas and Caiaphas^ till it is now day dawn. Meanwhile 
they have had runners darting in all directions, waking 
up the absent elders and members of the Sanhedrim, ^iO 
they can have a full court. They are under an awful 
pressure in the matter, as their plan is to put Him- to 
death before day, if pos-sible, because they so feared the 
uprising of the people. WTiile Jesus was awfully unpop- 
ular with the leading officials of both church and State^ 
because they looked upon Him as a rival and feared tJiat 
His new departure w^^uld result in their official dethrone- 
ment, they for a long time h^ad been waiting for an op- 
portunity to kill Him, but were afraid of the people, lest 
they should rise cip against them and stone them, or 
otherwise Idll them on the spot, for they well knew that 
the multitude were on His side. He made no appoint- 
ments, yet the very earth trembled with the tread of the 
multitudes who followed Him wheresoever He went. 
From the time the Holy Ghost came and filled Him iit 
the Jordan, He possessed an indefiiiable magnetism, 
which drew the people after Him by countless thou- 
sands, whithersoever He went. 

Matt. 26 :59. ''The chief priest and elders, and the 
whole Sanhedrim were seeking false testimony against 
Jesus, that they might put Him to death; and they 
found none. Many false witnesses, having come forward. 



The Valedictory Sermon and Prayer. 349 

they found none. And afterward two false witnesses 
having come forward^ said He said, 1 am able to de- 
stroy the Temple of God, and to build it in three days.'^ 
Mark gives it, I will destroy this Temple made witli 
hands, and in three days will build another not made 
with hands. You see their strategic tergerversation, 
with diabolical chicanery and stygian duplicity, persuant 
to that insatiate thirst for His blood which Satan had 
been settling down on them with constantly increasing 
and intensifjdng atrocity; especially since the* second 
passover of His ministry, when they reached the culmi- 
nation of their malignity and determined to kill Him, 
thus constraining Him to absent himself from Jerusa- 
lem til the feast of tabernacles, six months before HL^ 
crucifixion, thus taking time in the retirement of Galilee 
to' educate His disciples and launcTi the Gospel Church.. 
Meanwhile the high priests and theologians, co-operated 
by all the demonical sagacity of the pandemdnium, 
w*re stirring earth and hell for all the accusations 
they could get; and, as a matter of course, they were 
false. This statement about destroying the Temple and 
building it in three days. He made during His first Pass- 
over at the beginning of His ministry, and they never 
forget it, but hounded Him with it everywhere He went, 
applying it to the superb edifice in Mt. Moriah, whereas 
He meant His own body. In this we have a sample of 
the falsification so prevalent in all ages. It is not de no- 
vo lying, but such a modification of the truth, either by 
addition or subtraction, as to constitute substantial 
lying. 

Matt. 26 :62. ^^The high priest, rising up, said to 
Him: Do you answer nothing? What are they wit- 



350 Life of Jesus and His Apostles, 

nessing against you? And Jesus was silent; and the 
high priest responding^ said to Him, I adjure thee, by 
the living 'God, that thou tell us if thou art the Christ, 
the Son of God. Jesus says to him, Thou hast said it.*' 
We learn a lesson from the silence of Jesus on tril, by 
which we all ought to profit, viz. : keep silent while un- 
der temptation. If a person abuse you, or misrepresent 
you, follow in the track of Jesus and keep silent. While 
they were witnessing falsely against Him, He said not 
a word, but remained perfectly silent. When the high 
priest asked Him a reasonable question, relative to Hi.^ 
Messiahship, He answered him in the affirmative. Some 
Christians think it wrong to take legal oaths. We see 
here that our Saviour responded to Caiaphas under oath, 
thus giving us an infalible example, relative to that 
matter. 

V. 64. ^^Moreover, I say unto you, henceforth you 
shall see the Son of Man sitting on the right hand of 
power coming in the clouds of heaven.^^ The power 
here mentioned was abundantly manifested in His res- 
urrection and ascension, which followed speedily; while 
^^the coming in the clouds of heaven^^ will not take place 
until He returns to the earth on the throne of His mil- 
lennial glory. ^Then the high priest rent his garments 
saying. That He blasphemed ; what need of witnesses 
have we 3^et? Behold, you have heard His blasphemy! 
What seemeth good to you ? And they, responding, said 
He is worthy of deathV' Lev. 24:16. ''He that blas- 
phemeth the name of the Lord, he shall surely be put 
to death, and all the congregation shall certainly stone 
him.^^ This is the law of Moses, under which they con- 
denrned Jesus to die for the sin of blasphemy. You see 



The Valedictory Sermon and Prayer. 351 

plainly that He'had not blasphemed; yet if any other 
person claimed to be the Christ, he is gnilty of blas- 
phemy. . So you see they condemned Him unjustly, by 
misconstruing the great truth He had enunciated, into 
blasphemy. The fact is, in the very nature of the case, 
it was impossible for Him to avow His Messiahship with- 
out exposing Himself to the liability of accusation.' and 
condemnation for blasphemy. 

V. 67. ''Then they spat into His face and buffeted 
Him; and they hit Him with clubs, saying. Prophesy 
unto us, Christ, who is the one smiting you ?^' Luke 
says they covered His face and continued to speak many 
other things against Him, blaspheming. Oriental des- 
potisms were always horrifically cruel. It was custom- 
ary, when a person was condemned to die, to break forth 
into all kinds of insults, torture and every conceivable 
► maltreatment ; thus, as they thought, corroborating the 
judges in the sentence of death pronounced against him. 
It is a significant fact, worthy our notice at this 
point, that they condemned Jesus to die for His procla- 
mation of His second and glorious coming. You see the 
high priest almost fell into a spasm of indignation over 
it, manifesting the utmost horror by tearing his robe. 
It is observable that the higher clergy at the present day 
are apt to give way to paroxysms of wrath when we speak 
of the Lord''s triumphant return to the earth. 

JESUS BEFORE PILATE. 

John 5 :28. ^Then they led Jesus from Caiaphas to 
the judgment hall; and it was morning; and they did 
not come into the judgment hall in order that they might 



352 Life of Jesus and His Apostles. 

not be defiled; but that they may eat the Passover. 
Then Pilate came out to them and said, What accusa- 
tion :do you bring against this Man? They respondetl 
aifd £aid to him, If He wexe not an evil doer, we would 
not have delivered Him to thee. Then Pilate said to 
them. You take Him and judg^e Him according to your 
law. Then the Jews said, It is jso\ lawful for us to kill 
any one (in order that the word[ of Jesus may be ful- 
filled, which He spoke, signifying by what death He was 
about to die). They have spent the whole night in ter- 
rible haste, fully expecting to put Him to death before 
day, as they were afraid of a papular riot in His behalf. 
Having succeeded in pressing through their mock-trial 
to a verdict of guilt for blasphemy, they at once hasten 
away to Pilate's judgment hall, to get his signature to 
the death-warrant, for Judea, since she lost her govern- 
ment thirty-three years before, had no longer the power • 
of capital punishment, but was dependent on her Eoman 
rulers to enforce the death penalty. Such is the rush 
and precipitation to get Him executed before the news 
of His prosecution should fly out through the city and 
suburbs, that they rush to Pilate's judgment hall about 
dawn, which was as early as they could expect to com- 
mand his service. They thought that he would not hesi- 
tate to favor them by signing the death-warrant. Now. 
why do they demand of Pilate his signature without pre^ 
senting to him a bill of the charges on which He was 
condemned? It was because the condemnation was for 
blasphemy, which was entirely unknown in Eoman law; 
consequently they were afraid to present their bill of 
charges, lest Pilate would throw it out of court and they 
would be utterly defeated. In this they acted wisely. 



The Valedictory Sermon and Prayer. 353 

as there is no doubt that Pilate would have thrown it 
out of court as a non-sequitur in Eoman law. We have 
this illustrated in case of PauFs arraignment before 
Gallio (Acts 18), when the Jews brought Paul to his 
tribunal, charged with "teaching the people to worship 
God contrary to law/^ But Gallio, the Eoman governor, 
threw it out of court, declaring that he would have noth- 
ing to do with any of their affairs concerning their re- 
ligion. Then the people turned on Sosthenes, the chief 
ruler of the sjnagogue, in succession of Crispos, who 
had been converted to Christianity, and gave him a 
thrashing in the presence of the pro-consul, who winked 
at the whole matter. It seems that this flogging proved 
a blessing to Sosthenes, for when we hear of him again 
he is not only converted to Christianity, but is a mis- 
sionary with Paul, helping him preach in Ephesus (1 
Cor. 1:1). 

Therefore, the Jews, now that they have condemned 
Jesus, are unwilling to take the risk of specifying their 
charge, lest Pjlate would throw it out of court, and they 
would be at their wits^ ends; consequently they first 
make a vigorous effort to secure the death-warrant of 
their prisoner without any sp*eification. Having signally 
failed in this, they change the allegation altogether; 
dropping the charge of blasphemy, which was unknown 
in Eoman law, they resorted at once to that of hi^ trea- 
son, which was rife and very current in all the world, as 
every nation under heaven* had lost its government and 
was cringing under the yoke of universal Eoman despot- 
ism; re^bellions breaking out here and there in all t^^e 
world and suppressed by Eoman arms, the leaders be- 
ing executed for high treason. 



354 Life of Jesus and His Apostles 

V. 33. "Then Pilate went again into the judgment 
hall, called Jesus, and said to Him, Art Thou the King 
of the Jews? Jesus responded to him, Do you say this 
from yourself, or did others speak to you concerning 
me? And Pilate responded. Whether am I a Jew? 
Thine own nation and the chief priests have delivered 
Thee to me; what hast Thou done? Jesus responded, 
My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were 
of this world, my servants would fight in order that T 
might be delivered to t4e Jews ; but now my kingdom is 
not from thence. Then Pilate said to Him, Then, art 
Thou not a king? Jesus responded, Thou sayest that I 
am. Unto this I was born, and unto this have I come 
into the world, that I may testify to the truth. Every- 
one who is of the truth heareth my voice. Pilate says lo 
Him, What is truth? And having said this, he went lo 
the Jews and said to them, I find no crime in Him.^' 
You often see on crosses at Eoman Catholic cemeteries 
and other places, superscribed inri. It is a word of ini- 
tials, i standing for lesus (Jesus), n for Nazarenus (the 
Nazarene), r for rex (king), and i for iondaiorum (of 
the Jewsi) ; hence the inri means "Jesus of Nazareth; 
King of the Jews.^^ This was the superscription writ- 
ten on the cross above His head in Latin, G-reek and 
Hebrew, so everybody passing by could read it. Thus 
it turned out that Jesus was condemned and crucified 
under charge of claiming to be King of the Jews, which 
was high treason in Eoman law. Some claim that His 
statement to Pilate — ^^My kingdom is not of this world^* 
— is incompatible with His millennial reign on the 
earth. Such a conclusion is an illogical non-sequitur, as 
the fact of its not being from this world is no reason 



The Valedictory Sermon and Prayer. 355 

why it should not bear rule over this world. Jesus 
brought the kingdom of grace with Him in His iirst ad- 
vent, which supersedes the old^dispensation of symbol 
and ceremonies and consists of righteousness^ peace and 
joy in the Holy Ghost (Eom. 14:17), and now bears 
rule throughout Christendom; yet it is not "of this 
world. 

During this dialogue between Pilate and Jesus, we 
see the sad verdict that the Eoman government is not 
of this kingdom of truth, and consequently hears not the 
voice of Jesus. Though Jesus confessed to Pilate that 
He was King, and that His dominion was truth, he 
was utterly incompetent to form the slightest concep- 
tion of snch a kingdom. Cultured as he was, in the mil- 
itary barracks and on the battlefield all his life, having 
never heard of a spiritual kingdom, and seeing no sign 
of military parade or power about Jesus ; yea, nothing 
but a lonely Man, without even a friend, much less a 
military cohort, or an army, he took it for granted that 
Jesus was a visionary philosopher, dreaming that He 
was a King reigning over a visionary kingdom, which 
He calls truth, and of which Pilate ha'd but the vaguest 
conception, if any whatever. So Ke quickly makes up 
his mind that there is no harm in the "Prisoner standing 
at his bar; consequently he return^ \^ith a verdict of 
innocence. 

Matt. 27 :12. ''And while I ^e accused by the chief 
priests and the elders, He responds nothing. Then 
Pilate says to Him, Do you not hear how many thinge 
they witness against Thee? And He responded to him 
not one word, so that the governor marveled exceeding- 
ly.^^ Here we have His example of utter silence while 



356 Life of Jesus and His Apostles. 

under accusation by His enemies. Lord help us, when 
falsely accused, pursuant to Thine own example, to say 
not a word. 

Luke 23 :4. ^'And Pilate said to the chief priest and 
the multitudes, I find nothing criminal in this man ; and 
they became stronger and stronger, saying that He ex- 
cites the people, teaching throughout all Judea, beginr 
ning from Galilee till here.^^ We find the same accusa- 
tion this day addticed against evciry flaming revivalist, 
going through the country like a cyclone of fire, every- 
where stirring up the people. The dead preachers and 
carnal church officers close the doors against Him, be- 
cause He excites the people. 

Now, as their charge of high treason has literally 
failed, Pilate ignoring it altogether, and bringing in a 
verdict of innocence, and annunciating unconditionally 
that he finds nothing criminal in Him, His enemies are 
awfully disconcertedi, and at their wits^ end, and they go 
to hunting up every trivial thing they can possibly ad- 
duce against Him. 

JESUS BEFORE HEROD. 

Luke 23 :6. ^^And Pilate hearing of Galilee, asked if 
He is a Galilean man ; and learning that He is of Her- 
od^s jurisdiction, sent Him away to Herod, being himself 
also in Jerusalem in those days.^' As Herod was pro- 
consul of Galilee as well as King of I(Jumea and Perea, 
he made it a rule to attend the great festivals at Jeru- 
salem, as thousands of his subjects would be there. Con- 
sequently, he had a judgment hall there for the adjudi- 
cation of all matters belonging to his jurisdiction. Oon- 



The Valedictory Sermon and Pfay^^^ 35,7 

sequently Pilate gladly sends Jesus away to Herod^ d<i 
lighted with the thought of getting rid of the compli- 
cated and vexed case^ seemingly attended hy so much dif- 
ficulty — an innocent man^ for whose blood an infuriated 
rahble are so uproarious and incorrigible^ that he is puz- 
zled beyond all his gumption, 

V. 8. ^^And Herod, seeing Jesus, rejoiced exceeding- 
ly; for he was wishing for a long time to see Him, for 
he was hearing many things concerning Him; and he 
was hoping to see some miracle wrought by Him/^ They 
had no mail facilities, nor newspapers^ but were depend- 
ent upon the people to communicate the news viva voce, 
Joanna, the wife of Chuza, the steward of Herod, was a 
disciple of Je#us, traveling with Him, ministering unto 
Him, and helping in His work. Consequently, her peri- 
odical visits home to Herod^s palace kept him and his 
court constantly stirred up with the newa of the mighty 
works which Jesus was doing. 

V. 9. ^^He asked Him in many words; and He re- 
sponded to him nothing. But the chief priests and 
scribes were standing by, violently accusing Him. And 
Herod having treated Him with contempt, along with his 
soldiers, and mocked Him, and having put on Him a 
scarlet robe, he sent Him back to Pilate. Pilate and 
Herod on the same day became friends with one another, 
for they w^ere hitherto accustomed to be in hostility to- 
ward each other.^^ Here you see that Jesus played dum- 
my on him all the way through, never answering him a 
single word, thus treating his majesty with utter con- 
tempt. Though His enemies stood by and violently ac- 
cused Him of many things, none of them succeeded in 
the elicitation of a single word. Consequently Herod 



358 J-'^f^ ^f Jesus dnd His Apostles. 

winds up the trial by putting on Him an old scarlet robe, 
thus dressing Him up like a king and sending Him back 
to Pilate^ settling down in the same conclusion with 
Pilate^ that He was simply a visionary philosopher^ imag- 
ining that He was a King of the Jews; but in the utter 
absence of any show on the military line^ he has no idea 
that He can do any harm^ even if He does claim to be a 
rival of Caesar. Therefore he humors the joke by invest- 
ing Him in the royal costume^ and thus mocking His 
claims to the kingdom. Oh^ what a grievous disappoint- 
ment to Pilate when they bring back the Prisoner ! He 
had congratulated himself upon getting rid of the awfu] 
responsibility. The inspired historian here notifies us 
of the reconciliation of these two rivals ambitious politi- 
cians^ who for some time had been notorious for their 
mutual antipathy. 

BARABBAS DEMANDED. 

Luke 23 :13. ^^And Pilate, calling together the chief 
priests and rulers and people, said to them, You have 
brought to me this Man, as revolutionizing the people, 
and behold I have judged Him in your presence and 
found nothing in Him criminal concerning those things 
with which you charge Him; neither did Herod, for 1 
sent you to him, and behold nothing has been done by 
Him worthy of death; therefore, having scourged Him. 
I will release Him.^^ This scourging was a most horrific 
punishment, and only inflicted) upon the worst criminals, 
as a terror to all evil-doers. When I was a boy, they 
used cow-hide horse-whips, not only on animals, but also 
on slaves. It was cruel in the extreme. This scourging 



The Valedictory Sermon and Frayer. 359 

under the Eoman Government was infinitely worse^ as 
their cow-hide was filled with steel points, which so hor- 
rifically lacerated the flesh that the poor yictim fre- 
quently dropped dead under the operation. They always 
adtministered it to convicts before crucifixion. Though 
both Pilate and Herod have dismissed Jesus, pronounc- 
ing Him innocent, yet to satisfy His blood-thirsty ene- 
mies, barking like blood-hounds and roaring like lion=. 
vociferously clamoring for His blood, Pilate now lights 
on the policy of scourging Him, hoping thereby to satisfy 
their diabolical thirst for blood, and produce a reaction 
in His favor; so they would become sympathetic, their 
demoniacal hatred giving way to pity, and would &ay, 
"He has suffered enough, let Him go.^^ 

Matt. 27:15. "And during the feast the Grovernor 
was accustomed to release unto them one prisoner whom 
they wished. But they had at that time a noted prison- 
er, called Barabbas. Therefore, they being assembled, 
Pilate said unto them. Which one do 3'Ou wish that I 
shall release unto you: Barabbas, or Jesus, the one 
called Christ ? For he knew on account of envy they had 
delivered Him. But sitting on his tribunal, his wife 
sent to him saying. Let there be nothing to thee and that 
just one, for I suffered many things this day in a dream 
on account of Him. And the chief priests and elders 
persuaded the multitudes that they should ask for Barab- 
bas, and destroy Jesus/^ The Roman Judgment Hall in 
Jerusalem is near the east wall of the city, in the valley 
between Mt. Moriah on the south, and Mt. Bezetha on 
the north. History sa3^'S that Lucia Metella, the gov- 
ernor's wife, was at their suburban home in Bethany. 
As it was the great Passover festival, when the city was 



360 Life of Jesus and -His Apostles. 

crowded with people from the ends of tne earth, the 
governor was much pressed with official business, and 
was at his tribunal at all hours, late and early. Some 
say that efforts were made to get him to his tribunal 
before day, as their plan was to avail themselves of 
night^s dark mantle to perpetrate the bloody tragedy; 
but they were under the necessity of waiting on Pilata 
until day, by the hardest, commanding his service the 
moment the fair-fingered aurora gilded the Oriental 
skies, flashing her morning glories over the heights of 
Mt. Olivet; the meanwhile his royal spouse enjoyed her 
morning nap. Pilate has resorted to every conceivable 
measure to release Jesus, repeatedly proclaiming His 
innocence, though apparently in vain, the diabolical rab- 
ble, led by the chief priests, rendering themselves hoarse 
roaring for Hig blood. He thinks the stratagem with 
Barabbas will surely win, as he was a notorious robber- 
chief, who had been the terror of all the people. He 
had committed so much m^urder and robbery with his 
banditti, and with great difficulty had been caught by 
the Eoman soldiers and imprisoned under sentence of 
death. Pilate now gives them choice between the two — 
Jesus and Barabbas — entertaining no doubt but they 
will clamor for the latter. In this he is signally defeat- 
ed. To his own unutterahle s'urprise and alarm, the 
crowds are rapidly gathering, and it seems that a bloody 
revolution is destined to break out on the spot, heaping 
the city with the dead. At this awful crisis a man ar- 
rives with a letter from his wife. He is so excited, aim- 
ing to read it to himself, he is overheard. History says 
the letter read: "Oh, my husband, have thou nothing 
with that just Man, for He is a god. This day in a vis- 



The Valedictory Sermon and Prayer. 361 

ion I sa-w Him sitting on the Olympus^ and; all the gods 
and goddesses hurling their glittering crowns at His 
feet ! Oh^ I tell you^ He is one of our gods/^ ( She be- 
lieved Him to be one of the Roman gods.) This brought 
Pilate into an awful dilemma. 

V. 21. ^'^And the governor responding^ said to them, 
^^Which one of the two do you wish that I shall release 
unto you? And they said, Barabbas. Pilate says to 
them^ What shall I do with Jesus^ who is called Christ? 
They all say to him^ Let Him be crucified. The gover- 
nor said^ For what evil has He done ? And they contin- 
ued to cry out more abundantly^ Crucify Him. 

Luke V. 23. ^^And they continued to lay on with 
great voices^ demanding that He should be crucified; 
and the voices of them and the chief priests continued 
to get stronger and stronger. ^^ Thus you see the chief 
priests got the run on the multitude by their money and 
influence^, so capturing them that they literally became 
mouth^pieces for them, the clergy serving as buglemen 
for the uniroarious rabble. Though they had aimed to 
kill Him in the night because they so feared the people, 
having arrested Him at midnight, though they have 
toiled hard every moment since, till it is now 8 a. m. ; yet 
the news flying on the wings of the wind everywhere, has 
the whole .city on tiptoe ; meanwhile the tidings have 
gotten out into the country and the people are pouriug 
from every direction. Truly "the crisis has culminated. 
His enemies are going to kill Him at any cost, and Pilate 
sees that His friends are rallying, and are going to fight 
for Him, while His enemies already have an army on 
the spot. 

Matt. 27 :24. ^^And Pilate, seeing that he is profiting 



362 Life of Jesus and His Apostles, 

nothing, but the mob rises more and more, having taken 
water and washed his hands in the presence of the multi- 
tude, he said : I am innocent of the 'blood of this right- 
eous man : you shall see to it. And all the people re- 
sponding, said. His blood be upon us and our children. 
Then he released unto them Barabbas/^ History says 
that Pilate at that time was very short of soldiers, hav- 
ing recently sent away the main body to quell an insur- 
rection in Syria. Being unable to command a sufficient 
military force to keep down the insurrection which he 
saw developing on all sides and threatening to deluge the 
city with blood, he finally acquiesced, simply signing the 
death-warrant of Jesus as a peace measure. This he did 
pursuant to a policy common among Oriental monarchs, 
who considered it better that one innocent man should 
die, than that many innocent people should be slaugh- 
tered. Now he resorts to his final protestation of guilt- 
lessness from the innocent blood, by washing his hands 
before the multitude^ symbolizing thereby his own abso- 
lution from all responsibility. An English nobleman a 
few years ago died (as the people thought) and went to 
hell. After a comatose state of a few days, during which 
interment was postponed, on account of certain lingering 
vital phenomena, he revived and wrote a book titled 
^^Letters from Hell/^ in which he relates many things 
which he saw in the regions of the lost; took the alarm 
for himself, repented, and was saved; though before all 
of this took place, he was a church member and thought 
he was a Christian. Among other scenes related in that 
book is a brief expisode in reference to Pilate. He says 
he was walking alone on the bank of the Eiver of Death, 
which is as black as tar, and there he saw a man stand- 



The Valedictory Sermon and Prayer. 363 

ing at the edige andi washing his hands, endieavoTing to 
wash the blood from them in the cold, black water of 
that river ; but he saw he did not get any of the blood 
off. While contemplating him, Satan comes walking 
along on the bank of the river, and he accosts him. 
^Tlease tell me about this man; I have been standing 
here some time looking at him trying to wash the blood 
from his hands ; but I see he makes no progress/^ Sa- 
tan responds, ^*^0h, that man^s name is Pilate ! He came 
from Jerusalem to this place 1800 years ago, and 
stopped right there where you now see him, and has 
been all the time laboring to wash the blood from his 
hands; but you see this black water does not take it off.'^ 
Really, the river is more like tar than water. You see 
here the people chose Barabhas instead of Jesus. 

N. B. — If you get truly sanctified, walk in the foot- 
prints of Jesus, and live a holy life before the world, 
the people will treat you no better than they treated 
Him. You may expect them to choose bad people in- 
stead of you. Do not be surprised if they actually think 
the saloon-keeper a more honorable citizen than your- 
self. Eest assured, the false prophet will be popular, 
and you will be odious. 

You see here the awful imprecation which the Jews, 
actuated by the high priests and the devil, invoked on 
their unborn posterity : ^^His blood be upon us and our 
children.^^ No tongue can ever tell the awful horrors 
which came on those very people in the destruction of 
Jerusalem, when a million fell by sword, pestilence and 
famine; a million more sold into slavery, and the re- 
mainder led captive to Eome, there to enter into imperial 
bondage. 



364 lAfe of Jesus and His Apostles. 

PILATE^S LAST RESOKT. 

Matt. 27 :2Q. Xow Pilate subjects Him to that aw- 
ful^ cruel scourging, which literally tears His flesh to 
pieces. 'Then the soldiers gather around Him, invest 
Him with mock royaltj^; the scarlet robe, the thorny 
crown, and a reed in His hand for a royal scepter ; mean- 
while they bow their knees around him, shouting, ^Hail, 
King of the Jews V^ Spitting upon Him, they take the 
reed and strike Him on the head. Luke says they hit 
Him with the clubs, which, along with the swords, con- 
stituted their armor. 

John 19 'A. "Then Pilate again came out and said 
to them, Behold, I lead Him out to j^ou, that you may 
know that I find nothing criminal in Him. Then Je- 
sus came out bearing the thorny crown and the purple 
robe. And 'he says to them, Behold the Man! Then, 
when the chief priests and officers saw Him, they cried 
out, saying. Crucify Him, Crucify Him! Pilate says 
to them. You take Him and crucify Him, for I find 
nothing criminal in Him. The Jews responded to him 
We have a law, and according to our law. He ought to 
die, because He made Himself the Son of God.^^ During 
both of my visits to Pilate^s Judgment Hall in Jerusa- 
lem, I looked upon the doorway through which Pilate 
led Him out, because the scourging took place within the 
Judgment Hall, and the Jews would not enter it lest 
they might defile themselves and be thus disqualified for 
partaking of the Passover. So the multitude were stand- 
ing out in front of the judgment hall. The luminous 
statue of Jesus now shines on the wall aibove the door, 
subscribed with the words which Pilate said when he 



The Valedictory Sermon and Prayer 3t5 

led Him out, because the scourging took place within the 
hall itself. Though the church is founded in sanctifi- 
cation, the leading clergy and the official laymen have 
no trouble now to find a law to turn out sanctified peo- 
ple. No wonder, for the devil is as accommodating now 
as he was in the days of Christ. The fallen church had 
a law to kill Him and the martyrs ; and to this day it 
has one to turn out everybody who gets filled with the 
Holy Ghost. 

V. 8. ^'Then when Pilate heard these words, he 
feared the more. And he came again into the judgment 
hall and said to Jesus, Whence art Thou? And Jesus 
gave him no answer. Then Pilate says to Him, Do you 
not speak to me ? Do you not know that I have power to 
crucify Thee ; and I have power to release Thee T^ Je- 
sus responded, You have no power against me, unless it 
were given unto you from above : therefore, the one hav- 
ing betrayed me to thee, hath the greater sin. From 
this, Pilate contimied to seek to release Him: but the 
Jews continiued to cry out saying. If you release Him, 
you are not Csesar^s friend: everyone saying that He is 
King, speaketh against Cassar.^^ Pilate thinks, by the 
scourging, to not only satisfy His enemies, but to pro- 
voke their pity ; so he leads Him out, bleeding all over, 
lacerated most cruelly, and says, ^^Behold, the Man V^ — 
i. e., just look at Him ! But the priests were full of 
the very venom of Satan. Then the Jews make the as- 
sault on Pikte, impeaching his loyalty to the Emperor, 
assuring him that they would inform against him and 
have him deposed. Pilate was in an awful and frightful 
iilemma, when the Jews brought the charge that He 
l-aidi He was the Son of God; for the Romans had many 



296 Life of Jesus and His Apostles, 

god&^ and they believed that they frequently walked on 
earth in human form. Therefore, Pilate was awfully 
impressed that he was dealing with some one of the Eo- 
man gods, and when Jesus told him that he had no power 
against Him, unless it Avas given from above, he became 
alarmed more and more, lest he might be. dealing with 
the immortal gods. Further, the Jews are on him, his 
popularity with 'the Emperor is endangered, and they 
threaten him with arraignment before his majesty. A 
corrupt politician will jeopardize his own soul for office. 
Then Pilate, hearing this word, led out Jesus and sat 
down on his tribunal in a place called The Pavement (in 
Hebrew, gabetlia), and says to the Jews, Behold, your 
King ! And they cried out. Take Him away ! Take Him 
away ! Crucify Him ! Pilate says to them. Shall I cru- 
cify your King? And the chief priests responded. We 
have no king but Caesar. Then he delivered Him up 
to them, that He may be crucified. Here we see Pilate's 
last appeal ; he endeavors to arouse their national pride. 
The)^ had lost their kingdom thirty-three j^ears ago, and 
ever since had been ruled by the Eomans, to their sad 
and awful discontentment. The chief priests were really 
the leaders of the Anti-Eoman party, who were so anx- 
ious to regain their own king once more. So now Pilate 
attempts to arouse the latent spark of their national pa- 
triotism, by saying to them, ^^Behold, your King:'' i. e., 
Here is your King, and shall I crucify Him ! Crucifix- 
ion then signified what hanging does now. Oh, what a 
disgrace upon a nation for their king to be hanged ! But 
this last resort of Pilate fails, and he finally acquiesces, 
and delivers Him up to be crucified. Here Pilate sac- 
rifices principle, playing the part of a corrupt, ambitious 



The Valedictory Sermon and Prayer, 367 

politician; holding on to his office and shunning what 
might bring him into depreciation with the Emperor. 
Yet at the same time he did everything in his power to 
save the life of Jesns, without a regular and open con- 
flict with the Jewish authorities^ which^ pursuant to 
their threats, would certainly have brought him into 
trouble with Csesar. Yet, after he had sacrificed all 
honor and justice and rectitude to secure Jewish favor, 
and through them keep on the good side of the Emperor; 
yet from that awful tragedy fortune^s wheel began to 
revolve against him; he became unpopular with the 
Jews, and so odious that they impeached him to the Em- 
peror. Consequently he held his office only two years 
more, when he was summoned to Eome to stand before 
Caesar and answer charges for maladministration. He 
was found guilty, deposed, condemned and banished into 
the wilds of Gaul; and afterward banished into Spain 
(which was then the wild West), where he was doomed 
to spend the remainder of his days in lonely exile. Hav- 
ing thus passed through every eonceivable trouble and 
misfortune, prohibited from ever returning to his home 
and friends, after eight j^ars of trouble and sorrow, he 
committed suicide A. D. 41. History saj^ that he al- 
ways had the apparition of Jesus standing before him. 
bleeding, friendless, hanging on the cross and dying — 
a horrific spectre, haunting him to desperation and 
death. This is an appalling warning to everybody wise- 
ly to settle that great question, which Pilate propounded 
to the Jews, '^What shall I do with Jesus?'' 

JUDAS ISCARIOT 

Is one of the most paradoxical characters in all the Bi- 



368 Life of Jesus and His Apostles. 

ble. Some believe that he was predestinated to perpe- 
trate the dark;, bloody treason which betrayed his Lord 
into the hands of His enemies. I Sam. 23 :10. ^"^Then 
said David, Lord God of Israel, thy servant hath 
certainly heard that Saul seeketh to come to Keilah and 
destroy the city for my sake. Will the men of Keilah 
deliver me np into his hand? "Will Sanl come down as 
thy servant has heard? Lord God of Israel, I be- 
seech Thee, tell thy servant. And the Lord said, He will 
come down. Then said David, Will the men of Keilah 
deliver me and my men into the hands of Saul? And 
the Lord said. They will deliver thee iip.^^ We see from 
this inspired record, that things which, to all human ap- 
prehension, are predestinated, do not always take place, 
as clearly illustrated in the above, where the Lord said 
to David, ^^Saul will come down to Keilah, and the men 
of Keilah will deliver thee and thy men into his hands.^' 
While this is a positive declaration, yon see that it never 
was fulfilled. When Saul heard that David had evacu- 
ated Keilah, he changed his course and pursued him on 
a more direct route. And of course the Keilahites never 
did surrender David and his men to Saul, from the sim.- 
ple fact that they had utterly escaped out of their hands. 
Hence 3^ou see that what we denominate the decrees of 
God with reference to man, are liable to be changed by 
the free action of the human will. This David, pursuant 
to his acquaintance with the God of Israel, well kneW;, 
and governed himself accordingly. 

Some think Judas and Pilate were predestinated to 
play their respective parts in the bloody tragedy of Cal- 
vary, and consequently concluded that Judas never was 
a good man. This is certainly a mistake. Jesus never 



The Valedictory Sermon and Prayer. 369 

chose a sinner to go and preach the gospel. John 6 :70. 
"Jesus respondied to them, Have I not chosen you 
twelve? And one of yon is devilish^^ (E. V., devil). 
The Greek didbolos is an adjective, literally meaning 
devilish, this being the first allegation we hear against 
Judas, and it was spoken about the close of our Lord's 
second ministerial year. As he was apostolic treasurer, 
I trow his money office became an open door through 
which Satan entered and tempted him with filthy lucre. 
We see in the first of this verse that Jesus says, "I have 
chosen you twelve'-'; therefore he chose Judas as well 
as the eleven. Judas was mth them when Jesus said : 
'^You have followed me in the regeneration.'^ When 
the Lord sent them out in duets to preach the gospel, 
Judas was with them. Jesus came into the world to 
suffer and dlie and redeem the human race. He did not 
need Pilate and Judas, nor the devil, to help Him do 
Bis expiatory work. He could have done it as easily if 
those men had never been born. They were instruments 
utilized by the permissive providience of Grod; but in no 
way nece&sary. Hence they were without excuse before 
God, having acted freely, pursuant to the diabolical in- 
trigues of the adversary. Judas knew that they had 
been after Jesus three years to kill Him, and even sent 
battalions of armed men to arrest Him, but they never 
could get their hands on Him. He so yielded to the 
covetous allurements of Satan, that he had already be- 
come a miserable apostate, like myriads of preachers now- 
a-days, who backslide through the love of money, and 
still hold prominent places in the regular clergy. But 
-i; am satisfied that Judas- _ simply yiel died, in order to 



370 Life of Jesus and His Apostles. 

get the money^ confident in his own mind thait they 
could not hurt Jesus. 

The trial has been in progress since the arrest in 
Getlisemane the preceding midnight, and it is now al- 
most 9 a. m. When Judas sees that the matter is cul- 
minating in the awful issue of the bloody cross, and ev- 
ery possible effort of the Governor to save Jesus' life 
has utterly failed (except the stern ipse dixit of author- 
ity which Pilate should have exercised, thus releasing 
and protecting Him at every hazard, which would proba- 
bly liave cost him his life), and the last hope of saving 
His life has fledi away, 'he rushes in like a mad man and 
confesses his gnilt in betraying innocent blood. In the 
meanwhile he turns over the thirty pieces of silver to 
the chief priest, who positivly refuses to take them, say- 
ing, "What is that to us? yon shall see to it.'' When 
they utterly refuse to rescind the contract and take back 
the money, he runs to the Temple, which was very near 
the judgment hall, and there he throws down the money, 
then runs away off through the city (the Temple and 
the judgment ball both being in the east end), passes 
out through the Joppa Gate in the west wall of the city, 
crosses the Valley of Hinnom, turns south, runs on about 
a mile to a great projecting rock hanging out over the 
deep gorge of Hinnom, where he ties a rope around a 
tree and the other end around his neck and swings off. 
His robust body proves too heavy for the rope, whicK 
breaks, letting him fall from two to three hundred feet, 
dashing him to pieces on the rocks beneath. Meanwhile, 
tho priests on duty in the Temple, where he threw down 
the money, take charge of it, declining to put it in ths 
holy treasury, became it is the price of blood', they deter« 



The Valedictory Sermon and Prayer. 371 

mined to invest it in the very ground on which Judas 
fell in his awful suicide, transforming it into a burial 
place for many strangers dying at Jerusalem during 
the great and frequent festivals. Consequently they 
purchase the land kno^Ti as the Potter's Field, and it 
currently receives the cognomen, ^Tield of Blood/^ unto 
this day. Matthew wrote his gospel fifteen years after 
the crucifixion, when that appellation was still prevalent 
among the Jews. 

Matt. 27 :3-10 and Acts 1 :10.19. When the Eomans 
destroyed the city, A. D. 66-73, they left no Jews in all 
that country to perpetuate names and places. The 
inhabitants were all either killed or led into captivity, 
leaving Jerusalem utterly desolate. Even the name sank 
into oblivion. So it remained fifty years uninhabited, 
except as the wandering Arab there chanced to pitch his 
tent. At the expiration of fifty years, the Emperor 
Adrian came thither, founded a Eoman colony, and call- 
ed it Elia Capitolina, by which name it was known two 
hundred 5^ears, even the name "Jerusalem^^ having been 
lost. Then, A. D. 321, Constantino, the Emperor, was 
converted to Christianity, and came at once to the spot, 
restored the name ^yerusalem^^ to the city, took down 
the heathen temple, which Adrian had built and dedi- 
cated to Jupiter on the spot where Solomon^s Temple 
had stood. There he built a Christian Church and pro- 
ceeded to hunt up the places of sacred celebrity. So, 
from that day to this, they have been hunting up and 
identifying all the places sacred to Bible memories. 
When I was there in 1895, the ^'Potter's Field'' was un- 
known, having, with all other historic places, sunk into 
(oblivion during the ages of desolation. When I was 



372 Life of Jesus and His Apostles. 

there in 1899, I had the pleasure of visiting the Potter's 
Field, it having been disoovered and i-dlentified dtiring 
my absence of four years. The Greek Christians led the 
way in the Holy Land, having possession of more sacred 
places than any other denomination. They are wonder- 
ful for building magnificent memorial churches, con- 
vents and monasteries on all the holy grounds they 
get into their possession. So I found a beautiful Greek 
monastery on the Potter's Field, occupied by Monks, 
who received me with the utmost Christian cordiality 
and treated me like a brother in Christ. 

N. B. — The Jews had no grave-yards as we do. They 
deposited their dead in caves or stone sepulchres. This 
piece of ground happened to belong to a man who was 
a potter by trade. When Judas suicided on it, bursting 
to pieces and disemboweling his body, the place was re- 
garded as polluted thereby. Hence the proprietor gladly 
sold it out for a sepulchre, for which it was eminently 
adapted by its capacious and superabounding caves run- 
ning under the great mountain. During the long roll 
of the ages, when Jerusalem was inhabited only by the 
wild children of Ishmaerand Esau, the debris falling 
down from the overhanging crags so accumulated as to 
utterly hide these sepulchres. So they remained un- 
known till about 1896, when they were discovered. The 
Greek Christians got possession of the grounds and erect- 
ed the beautiful buildings which magnetize the traveler 
at this day. I saw great heaps of human bones in those 
. cavernous rooms, now overbuilt by the monastery, shov^^- 
ing plainly that they did use the place for the interment 
of strangers. Of course they were used only during the 



The Valedictory Sermon and Prayer. 373 

occupancy of Jerusalem by the Jew-s, which was only 
forty years, till their destruction and dispersion. 

Now, Judlas, the traitor, has run away to commit 
suicide. A great mistake here appears in the E. V. in 
the statement : When man repents, God always forgives 
and saves. The truth 'is, repentance is a work of the 
Holy Ghost, initiatory to conversion and fundamental in 
salvation. Eepent is metanoia, which means a change of 
mind; i. e., the elimination of the carnal mind, and the 
supervention of the mind of Christ, which really com- 
prehends the entire human side of the gracious economy. 
Eepentance is a complete giving up — i. e., the sinner 
gives up all his bad things to the devil and leaves him 
forever, and gets converted. The Christian gives up all 
his good things to God to abide with Him forever, 
and gets sanctified. The word here is not metanoia, but 
metamelomai, which means inundated with grief. The 
solution of the matter is, Judas was seized with remorse, 
which rendered him furious, and precipitated him into 
suicide. This explains the many suicides constantly tak- 
ing place throughout the country. This remorse is really 
a prelude of helPs torment. Hence the trouble with 
Judas was. a prelibation of hell actually took possession 
of him, rendering himself so miserable that he plunged 
into suicide for relief, actually dying before Jesus died. 
The doom of Judas is settled (Acts 1:25). 'Trom 
which (ministry) Judas departed to go into his own 
place.^^ He had crossed the deadline, utterly grieved 
away the Holy Ghost, so he could not repent ; therefore 
there was no place for him but hell. If he had repented, 
Jesus would have forgiven him, as He prayed to the 
Father to forgive His murderers while He was dying. 



374 Life of Jesus and His Apostles. 

THE CRUCIPIXION. 

Mark 15. The last hope has fled^ the death warrant 
is issued^ Jesus is delivered up to a Roman centurion 
with his hundred soldiers to proceed at once and crucify 
Him. The judgment hall is in the east end of the city 
in a subsidence between Mt. Moriah and Mt. Bezetha, 
which are within the city wall. Mt. Calvary^ which is 
really a prominence of Mt. Moriah, in the shape of a 
human skull, hence it is called ^"^Calvary/^ which meansi 
a skull, is just outside the north wall, and in the 
angle formed by the Damascus road and the Jericho 
road, and not more than six hundred yards from the 
judgment hall. So now they start away to Calvary. Pur- 
suant to the cruel Roman custom, Jesns carries His own 
cross. Having spent the preceding night and the morn- 
ing till 9 o^clock constantly on His feet, and having lost 
so much blood in the scourging, His physical po^^rs give 
way, cons-equently the soldiers press into service a strong 
colored man, Simon, from Cyrene in Northern Africa, 
constraining him to carry the cross. His sons, Alexan- 
der and Rufus, are mentioned in N". T., the latter in 
Romans 16, and the former in Acts 19, I trow, as there ^ 
are several men of that name. 

Luke 23 :27. ^^And a great multitude of the people 
followed Him, and of women, who were both weeping 
and bewailing Him. And Jesus, turning to them, said, 
daughters of Jerusalem, weep not for me, but 
for yourselves and your children. Because be- 
hold the days are coming in which they will 
say, Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that did not 
bring fortl;, and the breasts that did not nurse. Then 



The Valedictory Sermon and Prayer. 375 

they will begin to say to the mountains^ Fall on us; 
and to the hills, Hide us. Because if they do these 
things in the green trees, what may not be done in the 
dry? And two malefactors were also led along with 
Him to be put to death. The divinity of Jesus saw the 
awful horrors coming on the city and the people, when 
rivers of blood would flow through the streets, literally 
blockaded with heaps of the dlead; soenes of horror 
which no pen could paint, nor tongue express. These 
actually set in A. D. 66, and occupied seven years, wind- 
ing up with national ruin and destruction too appalling 
for utterance. Jerusalem is built on mountains and sur- 
rounded by mountains, Olivet, just over the Valley of 
Jehoshaphat eastward, being the highest mountain In 
South Canaan. While these horrors were actually turn- 
ing hell loose on them, how they cried for great Mt. 
Olivet to fall on them and hide them. At that time the 
Jewish nation was exceedingly prosperous, numbering 
millions, flourishing in every ramification of Hebrew in- 
dustry and enterprise. Even the Church, in her tempo- 
ral and material phases, was swimming in the highest 
prosperity: So that was the green tree. When coiled 
round by the Eoman armies like a huge boa constrictor, 
cutting off all egress and ingress seven long years, till 
all human sustenance in every conceivable way was ex- 
hausted and the people were dying by thousands of star- 
vation on all sides, so many dead bodies were putrefy- 
ing that they created a pestilence which slew myriads. 
Meanwhile, all the unspeakable horrors of a cruel war 
were stalking like avenging spectres, rendering the peo- 
ple so intolerably miserable that they were praying to 



476 Life of Jesus and His Apostles. 

die. Such was the indescribable horrors indicated by the 
dry tree^ with life and hope forever gone. 

In order to heap on Jesus the greatest possible popu- 
lar odium^ thy lead out these two malefactors and cru- 
cify one on either side. 

V. 33. "And wheoi they went out to a place called 
Calvary^^ (Matt. 2-i), "they gave Him vinegar mingled 
with gall to drink; and tasting it He did not wish to 
drink it. This was a soporific potion which they were ac- 
customed to administer to lull the nerves into insensi- 
bility ;, and thus prevent the awful acuteness of the pain 
which might superinduce prematurely a nervous parox- 
ysm^ thus abbreviating the period of that awful torture 
which attended death by crucifixion, while the victims 
hung on the cross several days, and finally died from 
loss of blood. The example of Jesus here would profit 
us all in case of special ordeals in which extraordinary 
pain is anticipated ; e, g., the extraction of teeth, the am- 
putation of limbs, and other surgical operations, in 
which opiates and other nervines are frequently adminis- 
tered. You see the example of our Leader is in the neg- 
ative. A very simple antidote in case of this kind will 
be found in the mental repetition of Scripture. Most of 
my teeth have been extracted. I never took any seda- 
tive, but passed through the operation with my nerves 
in their normal condition. The greatest trouble I had 
was the shock on my nerves, which I found to be com- 
paratively nothing, when I adopted the above preventive. 
Kow, in case of that kind, when I take the dental chair, 
I proceed at once to repeat Scripture, keeping my mind 
concentrated on it andi giving no attention to the dentist. 
Before I am aware, he does his work, and I have scarce- 



The Valedictory Sermon and Prayer. 377 

ly felt it. It applies equally in any surgical operation. 
Concentrate your mind on G-od; employ all your 
mental faculties in the repetition of His word and pray- 
er^ giving no attention to the operation, and you will 
be surprised at the tranquillity you will enjoy. 

John 19 :18. ^""Where they crucified Him, they also 
crucified two others with Him on this side and that, 
and Jesus in the midst/' as Isaiah prophesied in 43 :12. 
Meanwhile, as they proceed to nailing Him to the cross, 
He lifts up Hie voice and prays, ^Tather, forgive 
them, for they know not what they are doing/^ His 
murderers were ignorant Eoman heathens^ incited by the 
chief priests, who really sustained the great responsibil- 
ity. The popular idea that the Jews crucified Him is 
a mistake : The Eoman Gentiles did it. The rank and 
file of the Jews were opposed to it, and of course none of 
the Gentiles wanted Him put to death. His real and 
responsible murderers were a very small minority of 
the Jewish people, consisting of the leading officials, who 
looked upon Him as a rival, whose infiuence tended to 
dethrone and supplant them. The higher clergy maneu- 
vered to get their hands oil His person, through the in- 
strumentality of a hired rabble, and constrained their 
Eoman rulers to have the bloody deed perpetrated. 
Hence, as Jesus told Pilate, the high priest had the 
greater sin. The crucifixion of the innocent Savior, 
from a human standpoint, is an illui&tration of the va>:t 
and awful amount of evil a few bad men in power may 
bring upon the nation. 

John 19 :23. ^'Then the soldiers, when they crucified 
Jesus, took His garments and divided them into four 
parts, to -each soldier a part, and His vesture.^' The 



378 Life of Jesus and His Apostles. 

Jews wore two garments', the ehitoon next to the body, 
and the himateon, something like a eloak or a blanket, 
thrown over the bodj;, and especially important at night 
w^hile sleeping; but generally laid aside when at work, 
and •carried on the shonlder while 'walking. It is said 
that Mary Magdalene ; Mary^ the mother ^of James the 
Less ; Salome, the mother of James the Elder and John ; 
Joanna, the wife of Chnzas, the steward of King Herod, 
followed Him and ministered unto Him. It is believed 
that these godly women not only supplied Him with 
food, but madie His clothing, as there were no factories 
in that day. I find here, there were four piece's consti- 
tuting His 'external apparel, as there was one for each 
of the four soldiers who crucified Him. The vesture 
(E. V. Gr., chitoon) was His inner garment, which He 
constantly wore. Doubtless those godly women had 
woven it with great labor and care. You see here that 
those rough Eoman soldiers had too much respect for it 
to tear it to pieces, consequently they agreed to gamble 
over it, and seijtle the possession of it by the dice-box. 
This seamless robe of Christ beautifully symbolizes the 
unity of His body, the Church. Here jom see that even 
the world recoils* with horror from the division of God's 
Church, and says, "Let it be one forever'^; meanwhile 
they gamble over it, desiring to appropriate it to their 
worldly enterprises, so far as they can. But it is far 
different with the corrupt clergy, who are doing their 
utmost to divide the Church of God, each one taking 
all he can get. 

THE SUPERSCRIPTION-. 

John 19 :19. "And Pilate wrote his title and placed 



The Valedictory Sermon and Frayer. 379 

it 'above the cross. And it was written, ^^ Jesus of Naza- 
reth, the King of the Jews/' Then many of the Jews 
read this title, beeause the place where Jesug was cruci- 
fied was near the city: and it was written in Hebrew, 
Greek and Latin. Then the chief priest of the Jews 
said to Pilate, Write not. He is the King of the Jews; 
but that He said, ^I -am the King of the Jew^s/ Pilate 
responded, 'li\%at I have written, I have written/ ^^ It 
wais customary to superscribe the crime for which each 
m.alef actor was crucified and put it up over his head as 
lie hung on the cross. The truth of the matter is, Jesus 
was mobbed at the instigation of the high priests, who 
manipulated the unprincipled and irresponsible rabble. 
When Paul was on trial in Jerusalem, Festus, the Eo- 
mian governor, certified that it was contrary to Romans 
to condemn anyone until he had his accusers face to face 
and received a fair trial according to law and testimony. 
Nicodemus, who was a great Jewish rabbi, certified the 
same in reference to all Hebrew litigation. The truth of 
the matter is, Jesus received the benefit of neither Jewish 
nor Eoman law; but He wa© cruelly mobbed all the 
way through, as millions of His followers have been in 
subsequent ages, when they shouted amid martyr fires. 

Here you see that Pilate superscribed over the head 
of Jesus, in the place where it was customary to put the 
accusation, a-s- the Greek says, the title which was, ^'This 
is the king of the Jews,^^ and when the high priests asked 
him to change it so as to read ^^He said He was the king 
of the Jews,^^ he positively refused to do it. The solu- 
tion of the matter wias, he could not do it, for God was 
in it. 

Eom. 2:28. ^^Say'if He is not a Jew, who is one 



380 Life of Jesus and His Apostles. 

outwardly; neither is cireumeision that which is out- 
ward in the flesh ; but he is a Jew who is one inwardly ; 
and cireumeision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and 
not in the letter ; who is praised as not a man, but a 
God/^ So you see that the true Jew is none other than 
the saint of God, of whom Jesus is the everlasting King. 
He is King, both in graee and in glory^ bringing in the 
kingdom of grace in His first advent, and that of His 
glory when He shall descend on the throne of the millen- 
nial theocracy. So His title, "The King of the Jews,'^ 
is absolutely unchangeable by all the powers of earth and 
hell. 

This superscription was in Latin, the language of 
law; Greek, the language of learnings and; Hebrew, the 
language of religion. 

BLASPHEMOUS MOCKERY. 

Matt. 27:39. ^'And passing by they continued to 
blaspheme Him, and T\'agging their heads said: ^Thou 
that dost destroy the temple and build it again in three 
days, save theyself .^ Likewise the chief priest mocking, 
wdth the scribes and elders, continued to say. He saved 
others ; He is not able to save Himself. If He is the 
King of Israel, let Him now come down from the cros3, 
and we will believe on Him. He trusted in God, let 
Him now deliver Him, if He wishes Him ; for He said 
that I am the Son of God.^^ Thus to abuse, mock an?f 
vilify a man in the agonies of death is diabolical in 
the extreme, plainly illustrating the demoniacal pos- 
session of the chief priests, scribes and elders, w^ho in- 
dulged in it. They had actually committed the unpar- 



The Valedictory Sermon and Prayer. 381 

donable sin^ grieved away the Holy Ghost, till the devil 
had them completely under his control. Yet they stood 
at the head of the church and were the leaders of the 
people in the momentous interest appertaining to their 
immortal souls. Do you think we have no parallel cases 
at the pr^^nt day ? We dare not so conclude, since hu- 
manity, God, sin, Satan and the world are the same 
now as then. 

Luke 5 :39. ^^And one of the malefactors, who had 
been hung up, blasphemed Him, saying, ^If thoui art the 
Christ, save thyself aiid us; and the other responding, 
rebuked him, saying, ^^Dost not thou fear God^, because 
thou art in the same condemnation? And we indeed, 
justly, for we are receiving those things which we have 
dbne: but He has done nothing amiss. And he said 
to Jesus, Lord:, when thou comest in Thy kingdom, re- 
member me. And Jesus said unto him. Truly, I ^ay 
unto thee, this day shalt thou be with me in Paradise. ^^ 
Matthew and Mark tell us that both of the malefactors 
were reproaching Him, while the high priest, scribes 
and elders were all throwing their vile contumely in 
'His face. There is no contradiction here between them, 
and Luke, who describes the one as reproaching Him, 
and the other praying to Him. N. B. He was nailed 
to the cross at 9 a. m., and it is now almost 12. Hence 
you see there was ample time for the ciiange involved 
in the harmony with Luke. Early in the scene, both 
malefactors joined with the clergy, and church officials, 
and rabble in their insults and' mockery. A change 
eventually comes over one of them, convincing him that 
he is in the presence of a Supernatural Being. With 
the reaction, conviction settles down on him, so that 



382 Life of Jesus ond His Apostles. 

he goes to pray^ audi at the same time rebukes bis com- 
rade^ confesses their mutual guilty and then the Lordship 
of Jesus by invoking Him to remember him when He 
comes in His kingdom. As to the character of this 
conception^ it was evidently very vague. The solution is 
the simple fact that he yielded to the Holy Spirit, re- 
pented and believed on JesuiS then and there, layii^g hold 
of the salvation which was revealed to him t)y the Holy 
Spirit in the Man dying by his side, though condemned 
to die for crime as they were then dying. This ca^e is 
grandly illustrative of the wonderful gospel simplicity, 
which reaches penitent, believing sinners anywhere and 
everywhere; forever sweeps from the field all the pomp 
and pageantry of church rites, clerical manipulation, 
priestly intercession, water 'baptism; grandly illustrat- 
ing the great salient truth that Jesus* needs no help to 
save a soul; time, place and cireum'stances cutting no 
figure in the matter. Here is a man dying for his 
crimes^ — so vile that when nailed to the cross he actually 
engages in the mockery .and vilification of his own era* 
cifiers>. When all human hope has fled, he says Yes to 
the Holy Spirit, prays to the dying Jesus, and gets glo- 
riously saved'. There is no defalcation ahout it, the tes- 
timony of Jesus setting it beyond the possibility of cavil. 
God has but one plan of salvation. What is true in one 
case is (true in all. Oh, the unutterable beauty, simplic- 
ity and glory of the redemptive scheme, leaving not the 
shadow of an excuse for any poor sinner to make his bed 
in hell! 

Here we see Jesus eommendis His mother to the 
Apostle John, who then and there took charge of hep 



The Valedictory Sermon and Prayer, 383 

as a dutiful son in the gospel and supported her to the 
end of life. 



DAKKNESS PREVAILS. 



It is now high noon, when the sun normally shines 
in the majesty of his glory, looking down in his effulgent 
beauty from the gorgeous oerulean splendor of a Pales- 
tinian sky, which is celebrated for its serenity and cloud- 
less grandeur, from the middle of March to the middle 
of November, the rains all falling in the winter, and al- 
most unknown in the summer. This was April 13th, ac- 
cording to chronology. The On«i hanging on that cross 
between two thieves threw the sun from a world of dhaos 
when time began her march. He illuminated him with 
the unutterable effulgence, symbolic of His own glory, 
and honored Him with a grand retinue of worlds, which 
wheel in their beanty amid the ineffable sublimity of his 
mighty luminosity. Now he is put to a test, unknown in 
the history of the universe, i. e., to behold his Maker 
die. This he refuses to do, and veils his face in dark- 
ness. All efforts of infidel philosophers to locate a total 
ecli'pse at this time are utterly futife, as this was the 
full m'Oon, when she cannot possibly get 'between the 
earth and the sun to eclipse him, as she is at her apogee, 
whereas the eclipse can take place only at her perigee. 
This miraculous darkness struck the mnltitude like an 
awful pall from the eternal world, causing them to trem- 
ble and quake. 



38-i Life of Jesus and His Apostles. 

CHRIST EXPIRES ON THE CROSS. 

The darkness has enveloped the world from 12 till 
3 o^clock. 

Mark 15 :34. "And at the ninth hour, Jesus cried 
with a loud voice, "Eloi, lama sabachthanif whic^h is 
interpreted, "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken 
me?^^ This was the humanity forsaken by the divinity, 
and thus crying out. Jesus came into the world to bear 
all the sins of all the human race, and thus make the 
vicarious atonement. II. Cor. 5 :21. "He made him 
sin who knew no sin, that we might be the righteousness 
of God in Him.^^ So this was the time wihen God laid 
on Him the sinis of the whole world. Then He turned 
His face away, because He cannot look upon sin, even 
on His own Son. Jesus, sipotless and pure, took upon 
His human isoul the sins of the whole world to atone 
for them, thus perfectly satisfying the violated law, and 
sweeping away the necessity, or even an apology, for 
the damnation of a solitary soul, thus lea.ving all the 
world without excuse. Luke 23 :46. "And crying with 
a loud voice, Jesus said. Father, into Thy hands I will 
commit my Spirit/^ Having said thesie things, He ex- 
piredu Matthew and John say, Gave up His Spirit. 
John v. 30. ^^Then, when Jesus received the vinegar. 
He said. It is finished ; and lowering His head He gave 
up His Spirit.^^ 

How vain, foolish, and even blasphemous are all the 
pretentions of sectarian bigotry, arrogant assumptions 
of priestcraft, pompous clerical manipulations, baptis- 
mal regenera.tions, and papistical absolutions, in the face 
of the infallible dying testimony of Jesus' — "It is fin- 



The Taledictory Sermon and Prayer, 385 

ished^' ! If Jesiis told the truth with His dying breath, 
there is absolutely nothing left for the vilest sinner to 
do^ but receive His finished work, shout victory over 
death and hell, and sweep into glory. The go-spel preach, 
er is as invpotent to save as the sinner himself. He caoi 
do nothing but, like John the Baptist, cry, "Behold^ the 
Lamb of Grod, that taketh away the sin of the world V^ 
Millions of people are now in hell, because they depend- 
ed o-n human works, subjective or objective, instead of 
relying on the work of Christ alone^ ^^By grace you 
are saved through, faith^^ (Eph. 11:8). The way is so 
plain that ^Vayfaring men, though fools, cannot err 
therein.^^ (Isa. 35:8.) The world is flooded with hu- 
man inventions and vocal with shibboleths; fanatical 
leaders crying, Lo, here, and Lo, there ! but how few are 
preaching Jesus, ^Hhe way, the truth and the life^^ ! 

Here we see a most unequivocal affirmation by four 
inspired historians, that Jesus gave up His Spirit. The 
Seventh-day Adventists deny that He had a human spir- 
it distinct from His body. This is a necessary dogma 
in the maintenance of their materialistic heresy, which 
dispiritualizes man ; i. e., denies that he has a soul, dis- 
tinct from his body, and really brutalizes him. They 
are found in all lands, propagating their blinding and 
stupefying sectarian creed. You know it is positively 
false, because it flatly contradicts the Word of God. • It 
is materialistic infidelity, under the garb of Christianity. 
Beware of that dogmatism that takes from you yo-ur im- 
mortal 'Soul and does not spare Josus, but takes His soul. 
If you do not know them, you soon will, for ^^of these 
are they who creep into houses and lead captive silly 
women, laden with sins, being led away by divers lusts. 



386 Life of Jesus and His Apostles, 

always leaming audi never being able to come to a per- 
fect kno'wled'ge of the truth. In thi'S manner did Jannes 

and Jambres resist Moses/' (2 Tim. 3:6.) They 

are the worst proselyters in the world^ ^^compassing sea 
and land to miake one proselyte, and when he may be 
made ythey make likn two-fold mere the son of helF' 
(Matt. 23 :18). Jesns, you see, scathingly condemns all 
pro'selytism. T'here are many proselyters besides the 
sect abo've mentioned. The truth of it is, all sectarian- 
ism is more or less proselytic. The trouble with the sec- 
tarian is, he preaches his creed instead of Jesua 

THE VEIL OF THE TEMPLE IS EENT AND GRAVES OPENED. 

Matt. 27 :51. '"Behold, the veil of tlie Temple was 
rent in twain from the top to the bottom, and the earth 
did qliake, and the rocks were rent, and the tombs were 
opened, and many bodies of the sleeping ^saints did rise; 
and having come out from the tombs after His resurrec- 
tion, came into the Holy City and were miadle manifest 
unto many. The old dispensation was on the plan of 
justification, represented by the outward court of the 
Temple, which was supplied with the shew-bread for the 
priests to eat, and luminated by the seven golden candle- 
sticks, which needed human attention like all artificial 
lights. While the interior court, oalled the holy of 
holies, was entered only by the high priest, being siep- 
arated from the outer court by the veil. It was without 
doors and windows, and lined intemally with badger 
skins, black a-s coal, so the light of day wa;s utterly ex- 
cluded, no artificial lights being permitted; but iJie she- 
kina, which w«a9 the symbol of the divine glory, iUmai- 



The Valedictory Sermon and Prayer. 387 

nated it day and night; while the cherubim, symbolic 
of the divine presence, with outstretched wings, orer- 
Aadbwed the mercy-seat. There was also the ark of the 
covenant, containing the Woi^d of God, and overlaid 
with gold, indicating its infinite value. There was the 
golden pot, filled with manna, 'always fresh and sweet, 
typifying the soul-pabulum on which the saints are fed. 
There wa« also Aaron's rod, always blooming and bear- 
ing fruit in different stages, green, growing and) ripe. It 
is .also indicative of soul-food. I. Peter ch. 11, shows up 
the fact that in the new dispensation the priesthood is 
transferred to the membership, justification making us 
all priests, and sanctification high priests. 

When Jesus came and perfected the plan of salva- 
tion, all the types and shadows fled away. In the old 
dispensation, only the patriarchs and prophets were en- 
abled proleptically to move forward into the intelligent 
experience of entire sanctification. They were really typ- 
ical of the normal saints of the gospel age. When Jesus 
said, ^^It is finished,^' and expired on the cross, the veil 
was rent from top to bottom. If mian had torn it, he 
would have begun at the bottom; but as Grod tore it 
down with Hiso-wn hand, He began at the top. This 
rending of the veil was to open the sanctum- sanctorum 
to all the inmates of the temple, i e., to all the children 
of God, however humble, regardless of race, sect or color; 
thus making sanctification the normal standard of the 
gospel church, and promoting all the saints to the high 
priesthood. At the same time, there was an earthquake 
and tombs opened, and many bodies of the sleeping 
sainte did arise. All Mt. Calvary is now a cemetery, so 
the dead were very convenient. The record says tihe 



388 Life of Jesus and His Apostles. 

tomibs were broken up by the earthquake, but the saints 
did not ri&e till after the resurreotion of Christ. That 
was pertinent to the Scripture — ^^that He was to be the 
first fruit of them that slept^^ We know not the names 
of the saints who- arose at that time. I onee saw a book, 
titled ^^Gesta PiMi^' (Acts of Pilate), which gave the 
names of a number having risen at that time, and among 
them Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. What became of those 
saints? I trow they remained on earth till the ascen- 
sion of Christ, and then went with Him to Heaven. 
having already received their glorified bodies. 

TESTIMONY OF THE CENTURION. 

Luke 23 :47. "And the eenturi-on, seeing that which 
took place, glorified God, saying, Surely this was a 
righteous Man. And all the multitudies being present at 
this scene, seeing the things which took place, were go- 
ing away b'oating their breaste.^^ 

Mark 15 :40. "And there were women looking on 
from afar off, among whom was Mary Magdiaiene, and 
Mary the mother of James the Less, and Jo-ses and Sa- 
lome (who also were axxjuetomied. to follow Him and 
administer to Hiim when He was in Galilee), and many 
others having come up with Him when He was in Jeru- 
salem/^ When He was arrested in Gethsemane, He said, 
"This is your hour and the power of darkness.^^ The 
devil and hell in the powers of earth, both ecclesiastical 
and civil, had actually come to the front and taken pos- 
igession of the 'situation, heaven, angels and saints reced- 
ing away and leaving Him in the hands of Satan and 
his myrmidons. As they^had the field and stood- at the 



Tlie Valedictory Sermon and Prayer, 389 

front, tlie be^t the friends of Jesus could do was tO' look 
on from afar. Mt. Calvary, as the name implies, rises 
vjp from a plateau of Moriaih in the form of a human 
skull. Hence the scene on the summit was very conspic- 
uous from other (heights round about, and especially 
from all pia.rts of great Mt. Olivet, just across the Valley 
of Jeho-shaphat eastward. We see here how momen- 
tously this bloody tragedy impressed all in the finale. 
Even the heathen Eoman centurion, when he saw the sun 
darken, the earthquake, .and. the rocks broken up, was 
terrifi-ed^ and said to the hundred soldiers, '^'^Surely, this 
wais a righteous man!^^ 

The Romans alwayis crucified their criminals in the 
most conspicuou'S places^ so ais to give the bloody work 
the greatest notoriety, and make it mrost terrific to evil- 
doers. Hence they chose the hill Oalvar}^, in the angle 
of the t^^o most important streets, those of Damascus 
and Jericho; consequently the multitud'C'S witnessing 
were immense, as Jerusalem was then thronged with pil- 
grims from the ends of the earth to ^attend the Passover, 

Such was the awful manifestations of the Divine 
Presenee, in the miracles wrought, and the utterances of 
the djdng Jesus, that conviction, like a nightmare, set- 
tled down on the multitude, so they all went away beat- 
ing their breasts with horror. Those convictions tarried 
with them and wrought the antecedent preparation for 
the wonderful revival of Pentecost fifty days subse- 
quently. 

THE IXTERMENT. 

John 19 :31. ^^Then the Jews, in order that the bodies 
may not remain on the cross on the Sabbath. . . .ask Pi- 



390 Life of Jesus and His Apostles. 

late tliiat they niiay? brea;k tli'eir legs and take them down. 
Tlien the soldiers broke tihle legs of the fixst and tlhe o#ier 
one^ who wa>s crucdfied' along with him. But having 
come to JesTis^ when rthey .sia-w that He was a)lTeady dead, 
they did' not break His legs^ but one of the soldiers 
pierced His -side with a spear^ and immediately blood 
and water came out/^ The Mood and water are the only 
elements involyed in the 'plan of salvation. The blood 
redeems and 'santotifies^ covering the entire negative hem- 
isphere of the re^diemptive scheme. Meanwhile the water 
regenerates and nourishes forever. There is no mention 
of blood in heiaven. It did its work on Calvary. But 
we read of the Eiver of Life rolling on its limpid bil- 
lows forever. Water symbolizes life and perpetual nour- 
ishment. The life we receive in regeneraition wil] ex- 
pand into seas of beauty and oceans of glory and move on 
forever ; while this whole world, with every human soul 
and body^ is redeemed by the bloody and destined to shine 
and shout through all eternity, with exoeptional cases, 
where the human will, antagonizing^ brings in signal 
and hopeless defeat. Jesus was crucified on Friday, the 
very day on which^ from their exodus out of Egypt, they 
had always slain the Passover lamb, Joisephns says, two 
hundred and fifty thousand at a single festival — thus 
vividly typifying through the rolling ages the great anti- 
type, the ^'Lamb of God that taketh away the sin o'f the 
world.-'^ 

Mark 15 :42. ^Tt already being evening, since it was 
the preparation, it was the day becEore the Sabbath, Jo- 
seph from Arimathea, an honoT'able coun-selor, who him- 
self, also, was waiting for the Kingdom of Grod, having 
dared, came to Pilate and asked the body of Jesus. Pi- 



The Vdlediclory Sermon and Prayer. 391 

late was astonished if He was already (toad, and calling 
a centurion, he asked him if He was already dead. And 
having learned from the centnri-on, h-e gave the body to 
Joseph. And having purchased linen, he took Him down 
and wrapped Him in the linen and placedt Him in a 
total) which had been hewn out of the rocks^ and rolled 
a stone to the door of the tomb.^^ 

John 19 :39. ^ieodemus al-so, the one having come 
to Jesus at night m the first place, came, bringing a 
quantity of myrrh and aloes;, about a Hundred pounds. 
Then they took the body of Jesois and swathed it with 
graveclothes along with the aromatics, as is customary 
for the Jews to embalm. And there waiS a garden in th(3 
place where JEe was crucified, a new sepulchre^ in which 
no one has yet been placed. Then on scconrnt of the 
preparation of the Jews* because the sepruldhre was nigh, 
they placed Jesus there.^^ 

Luke 23 :55. "^^And the women, who bad come along 
with Him out of Galilee, following, eaw the sepulchre, 
and where His body was placed. And returning, they 
prepare aromatics and myrrh; and they kept the Sab- 
bath according to the commandment.'^ The tomb is 
excavated out of the great solid rock at the base of Mi 
Calvary, and opens into a garden. Joseph, a wealthy 
rabbi, had it mada at hie own expense and for his owr; 
bc'Jy, and doubtless Irie faonily ; because there are really 
vault's in it and room for many moire. Nieodemus, at 
his own' expense^, brings a hundred pounds of those val- 
uable aromatics, which mwst hsve cost quite a sum. 

During my last tour I visited: the old city,Arimathea, 
•^fliene Josep^h lived, and, fenadition says, Nioodemus also. 
With other cities it went into diesolation dnring the Eo- 



392 Life of Jesus and His Apostles. 

man warS;, whieli exterminated the Jews out of the 
land^ and remained desolate until a f-ew years ago. 
when a Jewish colony dropped on the site- of the an- 
cient city^ revived it^ and, as they do every place where 
they settle, they built it up into booming prosperity, 
thus verifying the prophecy of Jesus in reference to the 
revival of the fig tree, w^hich had withered away under 
the anathema which He had enunciated. Thus we see 
these two eminent doctors 'of divinity and rulers of 
Israel, though disciples of Jesus, were intimidated into 
comparative silence, during his life; but became bold, 
and gave the world an open and abiding testimony in 
His death. A singular phenomenon has transpired in 
the ease of millions of His followers. Many saints find 
their friends standing aloof while they live, 'who boldly 
honor their memories, and propagate their principles 
when they are dead. The interment of Jesus there was 
unanticipated, and really precipitated by the proxim- 
ity ef the Sabbath, whioh w-as so rigidly kept by the 
Jews. Physicians certify that Jesus died oif a. broken 
heart ; as you see when the soldiers came along to break 
their limbs, to their surprise they found Him already 
dead, whereas it is certified that the victims of crucifix- 
ion generally hung on the cross several days before they 
expired. Medical testimony certifies that the water and 
blood that flowed out of His heart when penetrated by 
the Roman spear, were evidences that coagulation had 
already taken place, separating the serum from the 
ooagulum. The indefragibility of His bones, accord- 
ing to prophecy, vividly emblem'atizes the real and vi- 
tal unity of His church, which is His body. Though 
the power of the whole w^orld concentrated in Eome had 



The Valedictory Sermon and Prayer. 3? ' 

commanded those soldiers to break His bones, yet they 
did it not, involving the consolatory assurance that the 
combined powers of earth and hell can never break an 
essential constitnency of His church; which is a spirit- 
ual unit in all the world, irrespective of race, color, 
nationality, creed, or sect. On three different occasions 
during our Lord^s ministry. He ha;d clearly predicted 
His resurrection from the dead. Cofusequeaitly the 
chief priests, scribes and elders hold ^ consultation and 
determine to make good their enterprise; therefore they 
go to Pilate and tell him, ^"^This deceiver, while living, 
predicted His own resurrection from the dead : therefore 
please send a guard to take possession of the sepulchre, 
and stan& sentinel three days and nights, lest His dis- 
ciples com'e and steal Him away, and circulate the re- 
port, that He is risen from the dead, and the last error 
be worse than the first." Pilate acquiesces, 
sends off the guard, and puts his own seal on the stone 
that closes the sepulchre, the breaking of which was a 
penalty of death. 



CHAPTER XVI. 

BESCENSION" INTO HADES. 

Had'es is a Greek compound from alpha, not, and 
eidoo, to see. Therefore, it means the unseen world, 
including both heaven and hell. In the E. V. it is 
frequently translated hell; but not so in the R. V., 
where the original word ^^Hades^^ is si'mply transferred; 
e. g., Luke ch. 16 describes Dives lifting up his eyes 
in Hades, and Laziarus carried by the angels to Abra- 
ham's bosom. They are invisible, and in conversational 
proximity to each other, which, I trow, does not obtain 
in ca,se of heaven and hell. 

Diveg was in hell, as you see from his testimony lo 
the fire, while Lazarus was in the Intermediate Para- 
dise designated, '^Abraham^s bosom,^ ajid whither all of 
the 0. T. saints, except Enoch, Elijah and Moses who 
went to heaven, were with their bodies, gathered, enjoy- 
ing ineffable bliss, awaiting the sealing of the Abra- 
hamic covenant with the blood of Christ, Which was 
essential to its eternal validity; and through which all 
the O. T. saints were saved. Hades at that time con- 
tained hell and the intermediate paradise, which Jesus 
abolished during His decension, leading up all the 
inmates, who rem'ained with Him on the earth, (in- 
visible because disembodied) and ascended with Him 
into Heaven, which has ever since been wide open to 
every blood-washed soul, following in the track of Jesus 
who led the way. You remember well King SauFs 

894 



Descension Into Hades. 395 

visit to the witch of Endor when his armies were on Mt. 
Grilboa, and the Philistines at Shunem, with terrible 
battles being daily fought on the Plain of Esdraeleon. 
In my mind, I now see all those places which I visit- 
ed two years ago. Because Saul had spared Agag^ the 
king of the Amalekites^ the symbol of inbred sin, 
w^hom God commanded him to destroy; He departed 
from him, no longer answering him by dreamfs, or vis- 
ion, or Urim or Thummim. Meanwhile the Philistines 
were defeating him in every battle, and it seemed' that 
every hope was sinking into the gloom of eternal night. 
Thereffore, in his desperation, be trudges away in the 
night ten miles to Endor, that he may consult S^atan's 
fortumo-teller. When the hag calls upon the spirits 
from the etemtal world to respond, Grod avails Himself 
of the opportunity to send up Samuel, this holy prophet 
from the 0. T. Paradise. The witch in her affright, 
exclaim'S, "1 see gods ascending up out of the earth,'^ 
showing that Samuel was down in Hades and not in 
Heaven. When he delivers his message to Saul, he noti- 
fies him, ^^To-morrow you and your sons will be with 
me.^^ Saul was a poor backslider, having apostatized 
after a glorious conversion, because he did not go on 
into sanctification by killing Agag, old Adam, the m.an 
of sin, the carnal mind. His sons were unconverted 
(I trow). The next d^ay Saul mtnessed the hopeless 
dtefieat of his army, the death of his sons, and com- 
mitted suicide. K'ow the very fact that Samuel said, 
^1V>nK>rriow }tou and your isons will be with me,^^ cor- 
roborates Luke xvi in reference to Dives' being in hell 
snd Liazarus in Abra'h&m-''S bos'om, j^et in conversation- 
al proximity. Samuel was also in Abraham^s bosom. 



396 Life of Jesus and His Apostles. 

Saul and his sons^ like Dives, who with them was a 
member of the Jewish church, s^nk into hell. They 
were together in the sense in which e^very coimmunity 
contains the happy and the miserable. 

Acts iv:29-33. ''Thou wilt not leave his soul in 
hell nor suffer thy Holy One to se^ corruption.^^ Hell 
here is Hades in the original. There are many places 
in the New Testament where you find hell in E. V. and 
gehenna the Greek, which never means anything but 
hell, being specific, while Hades is generic, including 
both heaven and hell. \ATierever you find hell m the 
E. v., it is gehenna^ and which never means anything 
but hell. From the above scripture you see clearly that 
our Savior's soul was in Hades, while His body was 
in the tomb. 1 Peter 3 :18. ''Being put to death in tlie 
fies:h and quickened ire the spirit, by which he went and 
preached (E. V.) — prockiaiied, E. V.) — to the spirits 
in prison, who w^er^ at one time disobedient, when the 
long suffering of Grod waited in the days of Noah, while 
the ark was being prepared. In the E. V. spirits in 
this passage is capitalized because the translators 
thought it referred- to the Holy Spirit, which is a mis- 
take because feat would break up the antithesis be- 
tween flesh and spirit, iher^ so clear and prominent. 
The simple solution is, when his body was put to deaLh 
His human spirit, received a wonderful quickening by 
the Holy Spirit; by which (quickening) He went and 
proclaimed^ to the spirits in prison, i. e., antediluvians 
and other lost spirits. This passage is the pillar of the 
Eoman C'atholic purgatory -and other theories on future 
probation, i. e., going on the hypothesis that dinners 
will enjoy other opportunities after they leave this 



Desccnsicii Into Hades, 39 T 

world; i. e.^, probation will con-tinue on in eternity, 
which is flatly contradietorj" of the uniform teaching 
of Grod-'s Word, and a seductive delusion of the devil, lo 
hold people in sin till he can dump them- into hell. 
The E. y. is correct, which gives it ^^^p-roclaimed to the 
spirits in prisfon/^ as that is the literal meajiing, elcerux- 
en, -which we find in the original, and not euaggellem 
which m-eang to preach the gospel. Thexefore, there is 
no gospel in it. It simply means to proclaim; and is 
from Icerux, a 'herald, sent out by the king to proclaim 
his m-essage. Here the simple meaning of it is that the 
human soul of Jesus left His body and went down to 
Hades, and there proclaimed the victory He, had won on 
Calvar}\ 

Matt. 12:20. As Jonah was three days and three 
nights in the stomach of the whale, even so must the 
Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart 
of the earth. This does not apply to the sepulchre 
which is on the surface, and entered not descendingly 
but horizontalUy ; for I have been in it twice. It refers 
to the fact of our Lord's actuaUy descending into the 
deep interior of the earth, i. e.. Hades. Eph. iv.lO. 
^^And he that ascended is Hi^ same as he that de- 
scended, first into the lower parts of the earth and 
led captivity captive.^^ ^'^Lower parts of the earth^^ 
is a phrase never applied to the sepulchre. While Sa- 
tan being a fallen archangel, and having retained the 
wonderful intellectual power he enjoyed in heaven 
while he kept his first estate, he is utterly destitute 
of spiritual light, his diagnosis of spiritual things is 
black as the midnight of hell. When Jesus was t>orn 
in Bethlehem,^ He stirred up King Herod, a boaste<3 



398 Life of Jesus and His Apostles. 

church memiber^ to kill him. No- sooner was He conse- 
crated to His Messiahship by John the Baptist, and 
filled with the Holy Qhost,thaja Satan assaulted Him in 

the wilderness^ brtngln'g into a\aailaTbilitx all the artil- 
lery of hell. Duririg the three year^ of His ministry 
Satan 'hounded Htm through Judea, Galilee, Perea^ 
Syria and Samaria ; stirring the fallen churchy, and the 
widked world indiscriminately against Him. Hia woric 
moves on eonatantly, gains ground^ meanwhile he fills 
the leading- preachers and officials of the churchy wfth 
all the wisdom of the pandemonium^ night an(J day 
stirring up the hell-houndfe^ hot on His tracks tiUflnally 
there is a grand culmination: inr the treason) of Judas, 
who betrays Him info thie handiW of tha high priesta and 
elders^ who have long been thirsting for His bloody and 
are actually taken possession of by a thousand mui'der 
demons. When a black courier from Grethsemane 
reaches the pandfemonium witlL the news, ^We have 
gotten Him at last/'' oh, what a roaring shouf rises 
from the bT)ttomleaa pit! Two hours roll away, another 
courier arrivo^andl reports the denial of Peter and the 
condemnation of the high priest, eliciting another shout 
of victory. Twtj hours more have flown, and another 
black courier arrives with the tidings, ^""The full san- 
hedtrim has unanimously condemned Him to die for 
blasphemy .^^ Again there i9 a jubilant uproar. Two 
hours more have flown,, another courier arrives and re- 
ports, "He ia now in the hands of our faithful, loyal 
Pilate,^^ so the mattor is in our favor. Shouts of vic- 
tory roar on. An hour has flown, and the tidings come. 
"He is set at naught by our servant, King Herod, and 
his men of war.^^ All take courage, the tide is rising. 



Descension Into Hades. 399 

Another hour is flown, a messenger arrives and reports. 
^^They have already led Him into Pilate^s judgment 
hall, and are scourging Him &o cruelly that there is a 
probability that He will drop dead/^ A wonderful boom 
sweeps through the pandemonium! Another hour has 
flowm, and a black courier dashes in, roaring out the 
glad tidings, ^^The thing is settled ; our noble governor 
Pilate hasi signed His death warrant, and mighty Rom-e 
will settle His destiny by a speedy and a cruel death/' 
Soon another black herald arrives, with the thrilling 
news, ^^Our servants are even now nailing Him to the 
cross/^ Now cohorts of demons are constantly winging 
their flight from Calvary to the pandemonium with 
news unutterably cheering. Finally the proclamation 
rings out : ^'He is now in the throes of death/^ Satan 
on his ebon throne, in the center of the pandemonium, 
commands a thousand tall demons to mount up and su- 
perscribe on the walls of hell in great, glowing capitals, 
luminous with lurid flames, that significant word, "Vic- 
tory/^ For the devil and his peers sanguinely believed, 
that if they could kill the body of Jesus, the four thous- 
and years of war wound up in their favor. Hark ! What 
is that awful cataract of thund»er claps? This moment 
the gates of hell are knocked- down; by the battering 
rams of salvation ! Hark! Behold! Jesus of Nazareth 
walks in ! His human soul having evacuated His dead 
body, has descended into hell, to proclaim the victory He 
won on Calvary. The very thing the d»evil thought 
would give him the victory, broke his back and gave 
the victory to Jesus. The thousand tall demons, writ- 
ing ^'Victory^^ on the wall, suddeiily drop with paralyz- 
ing horrpr. Millions of devils shriek and wail as they 



400 Life of Jesus and His Apostles. 

gaze upon the triumpliant Conqueror of Mt. Calvary; as 
with conquering tread^ He walks -around the walls with 
His own hands, pulling down the trophies of four thou- 
i?and years of successful w^arfare, and treading them be- 
neath His feet ! Xow he makes at old King Diabolus, 
sitting on his ebon throne in the center of the pande- 
monium, seizes him by the throat, drags him down, puts 
His foot on his neck, and verifies the first promise God 
ever made to the fallen twain : ^"^The seed of the woman 
shall bruise the serpenf s head/^ Having thus pro- 
claimed His victory to the millions of hell. He crosses 
that deep chasm (Luke 15:26), impassable to all finite 
beingS;, but not to Him; enters the Intermediate 
Paradise, called Abraham^g bosom, and there meets the 
thief, pursuant to His pa^oimisie He made him on the 
cross (Luke 23:43), "I say unto thee, this day thou 
shalt be with me in Paradise/^ This Paradise was not 
Heaven, -because Jesus told Mary on the resurre>ction 
morn. He had not yet asieended thither. So this was 
none other than Abraham^s bosom, the 0. T. Paradise. 
Of course He arrived thither before midnight on 
Friday, having died at 3 p. m. On His arrival, oh 
what a commotion ! The thief rune to meet Him wdth 
a triumphant shout; Here comes father Abraham^ leap- 
ing and bounding; Isaac^ Jacob, Job, Daniel, Isaiah, 
Ezekiel, Jeremiah., the Hebrew children, John the Bap- 
tist, and the mighty host of 0. T. saints, who had been 
gathering thither .since the days of Abel! Never in all 
the forty centuries fled has such an ovation reached the 
Intermediate Paradise! Now the good Sabbath of the 
patriarchs and prophets beginning at midnight ushers 
in. The tongue of seraph can never describe that vale- 



Descension Into Hades. 401 

di'ctorv Sabbath which the}^ all enjoyed in the presence 
of the Great Antitype, thrilled and filled with the con- 
solation, that the wonderful symbolism in which they 
lived and died, painting to the glorious coming Messia^b, 
has all been fulfilled'. Grolden harps are inadequate to 
proclaim the jubilant gaudeamus^ that fills all the 
happy spirits of that sacramental host. 

W%ile that wond-erful Sabbath glides away, the 
Prince of Gloi^^ martials them for the evacuation of 
that Paradise in which they hav^ enjoyed- heavenly pre- 
libations all the time. But it was only a tempo>rary 
abiding -till the euLminating victory of Mt. Calvary, to 
verify all thq types and shadows and. the Eedeemer of 
Israel seal the Messianic and Abrahamic covenant with 
His blood. Oh what a triumph on the publicity of this 
wonderful achievement in th<Q 0, T. Paradise ! So now 
preparations are .made for its evacuation and the ascen- 
sion begins after the midnight has culminated and 
ushered in the first day of tihe week, destined to super- 
sede the 0. T. Sabbath, nefver to he abolished, but eter- 
nally celebrated as the glorious memento of the Lord's 
resurrection. 

Eph. iv:10. ''He led captivity captive.'^ All the 
souls in the 0. T. Paradise are His captives; because He 
captured every one of them from the devil. So now 
the new week is ushered in. 



CHAPTER XVII. 



THE RESUKRECTION. 



Matt, xxviii :2. Behold^ there w^as a great eart/i- 
quake^ and an angel of the Lord^ having come down 
from heaven, rolled away the stone from the 
door, and sat upon it, His countenance was like 
lightnings and his raiment white as snow. And from 
fear of him the keepers 'did quake and become like dead 
n:en/^ Matthew says^ ^^At the last of the Sabbaths, and 
•on the dawn, toward the first of the Sabbath, i. e., at 
the close of the Jewisih Sabbath and the beginning of 
the Christian Sabbath, Mary Magdalene and the other 
Mary came to see the sepulchre. Mark says, ^^Exceed- 
ingly early in the morning of the first day of the Sab- 
bath they came to the sepulchre, the sun appr(5aching 
the horizon.^^ Luke says, ^^On the first of the Sabbaths, 
at the depth of the dawn, they came to the sepulchre, 
bearing aromiatics, which they prepared.^^ John says, 
^^On the fir&t of the Sabbaths Mary Magdalene comes 
to the sepulchre early in the morning, it being yet dark.^^ 
We find a substantial harmony among all the four in- 
spired writers in reference to the time. Matthew wrote 
his gospel in Judea for the Jews, A. D. 48 ; Mark wrote 
his in Eome, for the Romans, at the dictation of Peter; 
A. D. 63; Luke wrote his in Greece for the Greeks at 
the dictation of Paul, A. D. 58 ; and John wrote his for 
the Christians at Ephesus, Asia Minor, A. D. 98. They 
were all in different countries, dispersed abroad in their 

402 



The Resurrection. 403 

evang-elistic peregrinations^ and separated in time by 
period's of years. \^Tiile there is sufficient diversity in 
phraseol'Ogy and style, to refute the hypothesis of 
either's being copied from the other ;yet you observe a 
perfect., siibstantial harmeny and id^entity. This is ex- 
ceedingly important as the resurrection is the grand 
confirmation of His Christhood, and has in all ages 
been assaulted by infidels with unsparing and virulent 
criticism. Two n^eleb rated infidele, both prominent Eng- 
lish Lords, Littleton and Bolingbroke, entered into a . 
conspiracy to attack and refute Christianity; one of 
them taking the ^Eesurrection of Christ^ for his subject, 
and the other the ^Conversion of Paul.^ Both labored, 
assiduously^ and did their best to utterly smash the 
whole superstructure of Christianity. Having respec- 
tively finished their j-obs;, they meet again^ both having 
been happily converted to Christianity^ by the very ef- 
forts they made to refute it. If Christ had not risen 
from the dead'^ He would simply have dropped back to 
the plane of the pro-phets, leaving the world still in an- 
ticipation of the Shiloh to come. Though Jesus had 
three times distinctly predicted His tragic death and 
triumphant resurrection^ yet His disciples never re- 
ceived it. The explanation is given. Matthew and 
Mark say^ ^"^They understood not those things which 
were spoken."'^ Luke says^ "This word was hidden from 
them.^^ Whj did Jesus predict it? Because it was that 
indispensable link in the prophetical chain which binds 
the Christian world to the infallible promises of iGrod. 
Why did the Holy Grhost hide it from them? In order 
to keep the peace, and save the lives of thousands who 
would have fought, bled and died in the defense of 



404 Life of Jesus and His Apostles. 

Jesus. You remember in Csesarea Philippi, when He 
first predicted His arrest, condemnation and' execu- 
tion by His enemies in Jerusalem, and resurrection tlie 
third day, Peter rushed up, took Him by the arm and 
said: ^^Be it far from Tbee, these things sbaU not be 
done unto Thee/^ Peter's meaning was, ^'Tbey 'Cannot do 
that ; we will all fight for you ; thousands will rally and 
die in your defense/'' Therefore it was absolutely nec- 
essary to withhold the awful facts of His tragioal suf- 
ferings and dea.th from His disciples, in order to keep 
down a bloody civil war. Jesus h^d stirred Israel from 
center to circumference ; meanwhile multitudes of other 
nation's had come from the ends of the earth, being 
spellbound with His eloquenice and the contemplation of 
His mighty works. If they had understood the awful 
events impending, the cruel scourging of the Judgment 
Hall, and the bloody crucifixion of Calvary, every apos- 
tle would have turned recruiting officer, and Peter 
would have mounted the saddle, leading the embattled 
host to victory or death. You remember He aaid at the 
last supper, "You will all be offended in me thi's night^^ 
The word "offend^^ is from scandalon^ a stumhling 
block, and literally means to stumible, get jositled, or 
upset, relaxing yonr grip, suffering detriment to your 
faith. At that time they all had faith in Him as the 
Christ. This suffered an awful -shock that night, and 
the day following as the tide arose against Him more 
and more, till He was eondenmed and nailed to the 
cross; meanwhile their. faith in His Christhood, suffer- 
ed more and more detriment. Yet amid all these hor- 
rific scenes of diabolical rage on the part of His ene- 
"mies, an awful, brutal, satanic cruelty poured on Him 



The Resurrection, 405 

without mercy, increasing with appalling rapidity; ap- 
parently all hope having fled away, the powers of dark- 
ness liaving full sway. Still His disciples, though fu- 
giti^'es for their o^^m lives, contemplated the scene from 
Mt. Olivet. Looking over the Valley of J ehoshapha,tin 
the cloudless Palestinian sky, they had a most conspicu- 
ous view of the awful tragedy in which earth and hell 
comhined were turned loose against Jesus of Xazareth, 
whom they verily believed to be the Christ of God, the 
Shiloh of prophecy, the Eedeemer of Israel and the 
Savior of the world. Yet so settled were they in those 
beautiful prophecies, which desicribed Christ as a tri- 
umphant Conqueror ^sweeping all His enemies from the 
field, and slitting down upon the throne of David to 
reign forever, which will all be fulfilled at His second 
coming, that they were disposed rather to overlock 
those dark prophecies,describing him as "a man of sor- 
rows, and acquainted with grief,^^ laying down His life 
for the world, which really de'scribes the tragical events 
of His first advent. So confident are they that He is 
the Christ, they feel perfectly assured that He is im* 
mortal and cannot be killed. Therefore -they gaze upon 
the awful scenes c*f Calvary, in clear and full view from 
Mt. Olivet, every moment expecting Him to resume 
the wonderful power that poured the light on the 
sightless eyeball, caused the deaf to hear, the lame to 
walk, the tongue of the dumb to sing, speak the dead 
to life and calmed the roaring sea, defeat all of 
His enemies, miraculously come down from the cross. 
pass invisible through the air, and join them as on 
former occasions. But they wait as hour after hour 
glides away, till the news arrives. He is actually dead. 



406 Life of Jesus and His Apostles, 

and Pilate has given Him up to Joseph of Arimathea 
for interment. As the multitudes disperse leaving Mt. 
Calvary^ with its three corpses to the lonely contempla- 
tion of the majestic full moon and the glittering con- 
stellations, Peter, John, James, Lazarus, Eabbi, x\mos 
•and others assist Joseph and Xicodemus in taking down 
the body from the cross, with friendly hands and broken 
Iiearts, laying Him on a bier of brush, they carry Him 
dowm Mt. Calvary and lay Him away in Joseph's new 
tomb, swathed in fine linen and Oriental aromatics, af- 
ter the manner of the Jewish embalmment. Nicodemus 
poured out his money as for the interment of a prince. 
With strong hands all placed th^ ponderous stone of 
the sepulchre^ bidding adieu to the One w^hose love they 
never could tell. ISTow they all gather at the house of 
Eabbi Amos in the metropolis. He is a friend of 
Jesus, and there they enter upon their mourning. Tiie 
Jews mourn seven daj^'S for the dead. ^^T.ien they see 
Him expire and bury Him, they give up all hope of His 
Christhood, their Messianic faith in Him utterly 
evanescing. So they relegate Him to the ranks of the 
prophets. jSTo difficulty in this, because -so muny of the 
prophets had been slain at Jerusalem; the memory of 
John the Baptist, who had been decapitated by Eing 
Herod only six months ago, is still quite vivid. While 
they thus give Him up as the Christ and canonize Him 
as a prophet, they all certify that He was really the 
greatest prophet G-pd had ever sent to Israel. In thus 
dropping Him. down from the Christhood, and relegat- 
ing Him to the prophets, the diffieulty was not so great 
as one might think. They all knew that both Elijah and 
Elisha 'had raised the dead, and wrought many other 



The Eesurrcdion. 407 

stupendous miracles. The relaxation of their Messianic 
faith in Him did not necessarily forfeit their justifica- 
tion as they simply dropped back into the attitude of 
faithful and loyal members of the Jewish churchy still 
anticipating the Christ to come^ and reposing their 
faith in Him, as the patriarchs, prophets and saints of 
by-gone ages. Xow they spend the night in mourning, 
as the deepest grief is silent. Xaught is heard, but 
sighs, groans, hea^dng sobs, and the beating of hearts. 
The mother of Jesus is with them. She had been so 
elated with the hope that her Son was really the Ee- 
deemer of Israel, but now is awfully crus-hed and brok- 
en-hearted over His sad fate. The following day is the 
Sabbath, whose sanctity (even to superstition) was their 
only protection from cruel arrest and punishment as 
the accomplices of the Man whom they crucified for 
high treason against the Eoman government and im- 
posture in the Jews^ religion. So the Sabbath passes 
away in silent miourning, and the night is almost gone. 
The fair-fingered Aurora, the daughter of the da\^TL, be- 
gins to cast her rosy beauties above the eastern horizon, 
shooting gleams 'of glory from the summit of Mt. Olivet. 
The two Mary^s, Salome and other elect daughters of 
Zion, set out with all expedition for the sepulchre, in 
order to augment the embalmment which had been en- 
tered upon at the time of interment. They were near 
the Damascus gate, when suddenly a band of soldiers 
came dashing through as if they were shot out of a 
cannon, the keeper halting them and demanding an ac- 
count of themselves, while one precipitately dashed 
through the crowd and called one by name : ^^Marius, 
do tell me what is the matter with you fellows ?^^ ^^Oh^ 



408 Life of Jesus and His Apostks. 

gatekeeper^ we were appointed to guard the tomb '.)f 
that Jewish prophet, whom they crucified day before 
yesterday. I was walking in front of the sepulchre with 
spear in hand, gazing up at the morning star^ w^hen sud- 
denly the light shines all around me, a great arch-angcl, 
with countenance like lightning and raiment white as 
snow, and feet like pillars of fire, sweeps down in my 
presence, touches the great stone with his finger, and it 
rolled away as if it had been shot from a catapult. I 
looked into the sepulchre and saw that dead prophet 
get up from the marble slab on which He 'was lying, 
and walk out; meanwhile the tomb and the regions 
round about are filled with angels shouting ^Glory to 
God in the highest,^ and we all fell and became as dead 
men. Oh ! let me go V' And he dashed away on the 
track of his fugitive comrades. This report of the sol- 
diers w^onderfully astonishes the women, who are pass- 
ing through the gate, and with quickened step they run 
on toward the sepulchre. Entering the garden, they see 
the great stone has been rolled away and a glorious arch- 
angel is sitting on it. His countenance is like lightning, 
and his raiment white as snow. They tremble and quake 
with fear^ peer about hesitating to approach. The angel 
shouts, ^Tear not, daughter ci Jerusalem^ He is not 
here, but He is risen from the dead; go quickly and tell 
His disciples that He has risen from the dead. Behold, 
He goes before you into Galilee, and there you shall see 
Him. Behold, I have told j^ou!^^ And having gone out 
from the sepulchre with fear and great joy, they were 
running to tell His disciples; and while they were go- 
ing to tell His disciples, Jesus met them, saying. • 
^^ail ?^ And they having come to Him, took hold of 



The Besurrection. 409 

His feet and Tvorshipped Him. Then Jesus said to 
them, ^Tear not, go tell my brethren that they may de- 
part into Galilee, and there they shall see me/^ 

Matt. 28 :7-10. "And returning from the sepulchre 
they proclaimed all these things to the eleven and all 
the rest. And they were Mary Magdalene and Mary the 
mother of James and the rest along with them^ who 
were speaking these things to the apostles. And their 
word appeared before them like a dream, and they be- 
lieved them not/^ 

Luke 24 :9.11. "Then Peter and the other disciple 
went out and were going to the sepulchre. And the 
two were running at the same time; the other disciple 
ran faster than Peter and came first to the sepulchre. 
And looking down, he sees the graveclothes ly-ing; in- 
deed he did not go in. Then Simon Peter comes fol- 
lowing him, enters into the sepulchre and sees the grave- 
•clothes lying, and the napkin^ which was upon His head, 
not lying with the graveclothes^ but rolled up apart in 
one place. Then he entered in, and the other disciple. 
the one having come first to the sepulchre, saw and be- 
lieved, for thej^ first did not believe the Scripture that 
it behooved Him to rise from the dead/^ 

Allien the women see the angel sitting on the' stone, 
which was rolled from the door of the sepulchre, he 
tells them that He is risen from the dead, and to go 
quickly and tell His disciples, that He is risen, and 
for them to go away into Galilee and there they shall 
see Him, in the mountain where He had appointed to 
meet them. 

In response to the mandate of the angel, the wo- 
men set out to tell His disciples. Before they have got- 



410 Life of Jesus and His Apostles. 

ten out of the garden^ Jesus meets and salutes them 
and tells them to go and tell His brethren that He is 
risen from the dead ; and for them to return to G-alilee, 
and there they shall meet Him in persoUo Our Lord 
)vas a native Galilean^ having spent the first thirty years 
of His life at Nazareth in Galilee^ and two and a half 
years out of the three years of His ministry in the same 
lovely Galilee. Methinks these are the reasons why He 
orders His apostles t» return thither to meet Him^ and 
to identify Him to their satisfaction^ and receive their 
commission^ in one of those sacred mountains^ not 
here named^ but I opine it was the Mount of Beati- 
tudes^ w^hich hangs over Oapemaum from the north, 
dipping her feet in the beautiful Sea of Galilee. Xow 
the women dash away at race-horse speed. Their feet 
take wings and flj^ back to the mansion of Eabbi Amos, 
the house of mourning. Dashing in with such an awful 
stampede^ they arouse all the mourners^, wiio como rusli- 
iiig out^ surprised beyond all possible utterance. The 
-^'omen, are so exoited^ and having run themselves out of 
breathy that it is very difficult for them to tell the news. 
They seem so bewildered that the distciples conclude that 
they have seen a vision of some kind. But when they 
reporf that they have actually seen an angel and Jesus, 
himself^ they conclude that it is a dream^ or an hallu- 
eination; that their excitement is such as to superin- 
duce unreal visions. Consequently they pasis it by as a 
•delirium of the brain^ none of them thinking it wortli 
any attention, except Peter and John, who decide to 
give it immediate investigation. Consequently they 
start out and run with all their might; John, heing the 
younger by twenty years, proving the swifter, arriving 



The Besurrection, 411 

first at the sepulchre, but his courage failing, he does 
not go in. Bold Peter, rushing on, enters in, makes 
their investigation, corner out awfully bewildered, be- 
cause they have not yet received light to understand the 
resurrection. So th-ey both return again to the disciples. 

But the women, having delivered their message, dart 
back to the sepulchre with all speed. On arrival they 
behold two angels in white sitting, the one at the head, 
the other at th-e foot of the sepulchre. And they say to 
Mary, who is standing at the sepulchre weeping, "Wo- 
man, why do you weep?^^ She says to them, "Because 
they have taken away my Lord, and I know not where 
they have placed Him.-'^ And speaking these things, 
she turns back and sees Jesus standing and did not 
know that He was Jesus. And Jesus says to her, "Wo- 
man, why do you weep? Yv^iom do you seek?^^ And 
she, thinking that He is the gardener, says to him, 
"Lord, if you have taken Him away, tell me where you 
have put Him, and I will take Him.^^ And Jesus says 
to her, "Mary V^ She, turning, says to Him, "Kabboni !'^ 
(which is. My teacher !) And Jesus says to her, "Touch 
me not, for I have not ascended to my Father : but go 
to my brethren and say to them, I go up to my Father, 
and your Father; to my Grod and your God.^^ Mary 
Magdalene goes, announcing to the disciples that sTie 
has seen the Lord and He has told her these things. 

John 20 :11-18. On the second visit of the women 
to the sepulchre, the two angels appear to them and 
certify that He is risen. Meaniwhile those women are in 
a tornado of excitement, passing through a volcanic rev- 
olution, hardly know^ing w^h ether to weep for grief or 
joy. The truth of the matter is^ it seems to them that 



412 Life of Jesus and His Apostles. 

the news is too good to be tme^ for tliey^ with all the 
balance^ have been fixed and settled in the conviction 
that Christy when He comes^ will be King of the Jews 
and reign forever^ invulnerable and immortal. There- 
fore^ when they saw Him killed^ they gave up all hope 
of His Christhood^ relegating Him to the prophetic 
rank. Oh ! it seems like turning the sun in his course, 
to convince them that He is actually risen from the 
dead^ for they had hitherto received no light on the 
prophecies appertaining to His resurrection. 

Xow^ they see that m'an^ whom they 'suppose to be 
the gardener^ and make inquiry about the body that Is 
missing from the sepulchre^ and behold ! a light flashes 
on them^ and they see that the Man with whom they 
are conversing is none other than Je^sus himself. With 
transporting enthusia'sm they fall at His feet in the at- 
titude of worship; He responds to them^ '^^Tarry not 
with me^^ (because I have delivered you a most import- 
ant message to deliver) ; '^^go speedily and tell them, that 
I am risen^ for I have not yet ascended to my Father.^^ 
They supposed that He had been up in heaven^ and 
had simply dropped down a moment^ like an angel^ then 
to be gone forever; hence^ they thought to avail them- 
selves of the opportunity to worship Him in the Orien- 
tal manner^ embracing His feet. But He notifies them 
that He is not yet gone up to heaven^ and not going 
for some time (forty dayis)^ they would have much op- 
portunity to be with Him before His final ascension. 

Matt. 28 :11-15. Here we find that the Eoman sol- 
diers came into the city and announced to the chief 
priests those wonderful things which were taking place 
— actually the resurrection of Jesus. But they bribed 



Tlie EesurrectiQn. 413 

them with money to report that His disciples came and 
stole Him away while they slept^ the hierarchy promi^ 
ing to stand between them and all danger. How^ glar- 
ingly inconsistent, as it was a well-kno\\Ti fact that it 
was a penalty of death for a Eoman soldier to go to 
sleep on guard ! Matthew .wrote his gospel fifteen years 
after the Lord^s ascension, and here he says that this re- 
port was currently in circulation among the Jews at 
that time. Thus you see how the chief priests, by 
bribery and falsehood, did their utm-ost to deceive the 
people, illustrating the indisputable fact that they arc 
actually led captive by Satan at his will. "RTiat an ap- 
palling picture of the leading clergy, claiming to be 
the monthpieces of God ! 

Luke 24:13-35. Here we find Cleopas and his disci- 
ple this same day (Sunday afternoon) walking away to 
Emmaus, seven and a half miles. Jesus, falling in. 
journeys with them; but He drops on theim an optical 
illusion, so they do not recognize Him. Meanwhile they 
while away the time in conversation, the all-absorbing 
events in reference to Himself being the theme. Thes'3 
disciples relate to Him how the chief priests and rulers 
had crucified Jesus, and they were all crushed with dis- 
appointment, because they had been indulging the hope 
that He was the One destined to redeem Israel. Then 
they proceed to state to their unknown companion, that 
they were utterly dumbfounded and paralyzed by the 
testimony of some of their women, who had been at th(^ 
sepulchre in the early morning, and did not find Hi? 
body; but they saw a vision of angels, who said He was 
alive, and that some of the brethren had gone to the 
sepulehre and found it empty, as the 'women said; bu'- 



414 Life of Jesus and His Apostles. 

ttiey did not see Him. Then He proceeds at once and re- 
capitulates the prophecieB^ beginning with the Penta- 
teuch and coming on down through all the prophets, 
expounding them and clearly 'Showing up the great sa- 
lient truth, that it behooveth Christ to die for a guilcy 
world and rise again. When they arrive at Emmaus. 
He walks on till they constrain Him to stop and abide 
with them. Then^, at the supper-table, He reveals him- 
self to them in breaking the -bread* and dispensing ir, 
and at once their eyes are opened, they recognize Him, 
and He vanishes out of their sight. Such is the flood 
of light and joy on their souls that it utterly takes awav 
their appetite. They desist at once, rise, and set out for 
Jerusalem at double-quick, talking as they go, '^'^Did nofc 
our hearts bum within us while He opened unto us the 
Scriptures V^ So, when they get back to Jerusalem, they 
find the eleven apostles all assemibled and talking over 
the matter, observing that He had not only appeared to 
the women in the ^arly morning, but also at a later 
hour, to Peter. Then these two give their testimony 
to His falling in and journeying with them along thp 
road. Meanwhile, behold! He stands in their midst, 
and says: "Peace be unto you.'' Thus, five times al- 
ready in that one day has He appeared to them. Mean- 
while there is a general and perplexing agitation among 
them, thinking that they see a spirit. He challenges 
them to come and see His hands and feet, and handle 
Him, and satisfy themselves, because a spirit has neither 
flesh nor bone, as they see He has. Meanwhile He has 
them bring Him a piece of baked flsh and honey-comb, 
that they may see Him ea;t. You see, it was necessary 
for Him to retain His material body after His resurrec- 



The Eesurreciion. 415 

tion, in order to His identification. You see they need- 
ed every facility for the identification of His person- 
ality. His glorified person^ seen by James and John on 
the Mount of Transfiguration^ was really the facsimile 
of His nltimate glorification^ which was postponed till 
the disciples had ample opportunities to settle the ques- 
tion of His identity beyond the possibility of a doubt. 

Y. 45. ^'Then He opened their mind, that they 
onight understand the Scriptures.^^ So He does this 
day graciously and wondeTfully open the minds of His 
saints to see the deep things revealed in His precious 
Word. 

V. 46. ^^And He* said to them, Because, as it has 
heen written, it behooves Christ to suffer and rise from 
the dead on the third day, and that repentance unto the 
remission of sins shall be preached to all the G-entiles. 
beginning from Jerusalem.^^ Here we have the beautiful 
commission of Luke, promising remission' of sin to all, 
on the isolated condition of repentance. A genuine re- 
pentance always superinduces justifying faith. ^^And 
you are witnesses of these things. And behold I send 
upon you the promise of the Father; and you abide 
in the city of Jerusalem until you may be endued with 
dynamite from on high.^^ The Father sent His Son into 
the world to redeem it from sin, death and hell; then 
follows the dispensation of the Holy Ghost, to convict all 
sinners, regenerate the penitent and sanctify the believ- 
ers. All this is promised in the Abrahamic covenant 
(Luke 1:72-79). Here you find that the Holy Spirit 
was promised to Abraham and his seed; i. e., all his 
spiritual children, in the covenant of redemption, whicli 
God made with Christ, and ratified with Abraham, to 



416 Life of Jesus and His Apostles. 

sanctify him and his innumerable spiritual family, so 
as to enable them ^^to serve Him in holiness and right- 
eousness all our days/^ You see here that our Savior 
actually forbade His own disciples, to go and preach the 
gospel undier the glorious full salvation dispensation Gi 
the Holy Ghost, till they were all endued with the heav- 
enly dynamite, to qualify them for the greatest anct 
m'ost responsible work ever delegated to man or angel. 
The sad mistake of the Church has been the post- 
apostolical departure from this prim-ary precept, deliv- 
ered by our Savior. We must receive the Holy Ghost 
before we are qualified to preach the gospel. Oh, how 
true, that talents and opportuniti'es are wasted b^ausa 
we do not all obey this commandment to tarry till we re- 
ceive the enduement of the Holy Ghosit! The gospel 
economy is characterized by three verbs : Come, tarry, 
go. We first come to Jesus and get saved; then we 
tarry till the Father fills us with the Holy Ghost; then, 
we are prepared to obey the commission, ^^Go, preach.^^ 
John 20 :22. ^^And saying this, He breathed on 
them and says to them, Eeceive ye the Holy Ghost: 
Vhosesoever sins you may remit, are remitted unto 
them ; and of whosesoever you may retain, they are re- 
tained.^^ The apostles had all relaxed their grip on the 
Christhood of Jesus, dropping Him back to the rant 
and file of the prophets, so they needed the Holy Ghost 
to restore them into the clear experience of the kingdom 
of grace, which they had preached with great efficiency 
in the dispensation of Jesus. To what extent they had 
^Teally lost ground, spiritually and experinientally, dur- 
'ing the three days of His crucifixion and interment,. we 
are not prepared to say. Though justification and re- 



The Resurrection. 417 

generation were preached by the old prophets^ evidently 
the "Kingdom of Heaven/^ brought into the world by 
the incarnate Christy, and consisting of "righteousness, 
peace and joy in the Holy G-host'^ (Eom. 14:17), and 
destined to supersede the law and the prophets, was 
characterized by brighter an(J clearer light, a deeper and 
stronger hold on spiritual things, and a vastly more 
glorious elevation above the materialistic phases of re- 
ligion than the former dispensation. The Holy Ghost, 
whom Jesus breathed on them here, was in the capacity 
of Restorer and Illuminator, rather than Comforter, as 
they received Him on the day of Pentecost. 

Verse 23 has been very adroitly subsidized by priest- 
craft in the fallen churches, and by Eomanism, especial- 
ly. It is identical with the key power (Matt. 16:18), 
simply involving the wonderful power of the Word, to 
take away the sins from truly penitent believing souls, 
when received in the love of it; and to retain the siri.-: 
of the impenitent and unbelieving contemners of gos'pel 
grace and opportunity. Hence the preacher filled with 
the Holy Ghost actually becomes the instrument of the 
Sayior in the salvation of all who will let Him, and in 
the reprobation of those who contemptuously reject the 
message of redeeming grace and dying love. 

John 20:24-29. It so happened that Thomas was 
absent on the night of our Lord's resurrection, when He 
appeared in their midst^ so gloriously revealing himself 
to all. Afterward, when they met him and told him, ''We 
have seen the Lord,'^ he said, ^'Unless I shall put my 
finger in the prints of the nails, and thrust my hands 
in His side, I will not believe.^'' So when He appears 
to them again, eight days afterward, which was the fol- 



418 Life of Jesus and His Apostles, 

lowing Sunday night, He says to Thomas^ ''Come along^ 
thrust thy finger into my side, and be not faithless, but 
believing'^; and he shouts out: ''0, Lord, my God!'^ 
Thomas had the doubting infirmity till he got baptized 
with the Holy Ghost and fire on the day of Pentecofct. 
After that, he never had a doubt; they were all con- 
sumed by the fires of the Holy Ghost. 

Eight days have rolled away since the wonderful 
news of His resurrection first rang out from the procla- 
mation of the angel to the women. In the meantime 
the Lord has appeared to them seven times: twice to 
the Mark's, Salome and Joanna; then to Peter; then to 
Cleopas and his <3omrad-e at Eonmaus ; then to the eleven 
assembled in- a room at Jerusalem; afterward, on th.8 
second Sunday night, to all the apostles, when He 
dissipated the doubts of Thoanas. Immediately after 
the second Sunday, the eleven all set out for Galilee. 
Having arrived at the Mount of Beatitudes, the Lord 
seems to have put their faith to a slight test, by a short 
delay, during w^hich time, Peter leading the way, they 
all go fishing on the Sea of Galilee, whose billows they 
had plowed from their childhood. Having toiled all 
night and caught nothing, when the day broadens oat 
over the deep, they look and see a- man standing on the 
shore, but do not recognize him. He says to them: 
^'Children, have you any meat? They responded to 
Him : No. And He said to them : Cast the net on the 
right-hand side of the ship, and you will find. Then 
they continue to cast it, and they were not able to draw 
it out on account of the multitude of fishes. Then that 
disciple whom Jesus loved says to Peter: He is the 
Lord ! Then Simon Peter, hearing that He is the Lord, 



The Resurrection. 419 

girded on liis fishing cloak^ for he T\'as in a state of nu- 
dity, and cast hims-elf into the sea/' John evidently 
enjoyed a deeper insight into spiritual things than the 
rest of the apo-stles. Consequently he was the first t-o 
recognize the Lord. Xow Peter in his enthusiasm, pe- 
culiar to iig vivacity of spirit and celerity of move- 
ment, leaps out, swimming till he reaches water shallow 
enough to wade, and speedily reaches the shore, the 
others coming in the ship, which was only two hundred 
cubits (i. e., one hundred and fifty yards) distant, draw 
the net ashore, filled with one hundred and fifty- 
three large fishes; and yet, to their astonishment, not 
broken. On arrival, all recognize their risen Lord, and 
see the fire burning, fish and bread on it, cooked^ ready 
for breakfast. Jesus himself once more dispenses their 
food to them. 

During our last tour in 1899, the guide landed us 
on a beautiful gravel shore on the east coast, and said 
that was the place where the above history transpired. 
It is certainly plausible, in the fact that fishermen al- 
ways seek a nice gravel beach on which to draw out the^r 
nets. 

John 21 :l-24. Y. 15. ''Then when they took break- 
fast, Jesu9 says to Simon Peter, the son of Jonah^ lovest 
thou me with divine love^ more than these? He says to 
Him, Yea, Lord; Thou knowest that I love Thee as a 
friend. He saj-s to him. Feed my lambs. He sa}^ to 
him again the second time, Simon, the son of Jonah, 
lovest thou me with divine love ? He says to Him, Yea, 
Lord; Thou knowest that I love Thee as a friend. He 
says to him, Shepherd my sheep. He says to him a third 
time^ Simon, the son of Jonah, Do you love me as a 



'420 Life of Jesus and His Apostles. 

friend ? Peter was gmeved because He said to 'him tlie 
third time^ Do you Icvve me as a friend ? And he said to 
Him, Lord, Thou knowest all things; Thou knowetrt 
that I love Thee as a friend. Jesus says to him, Feed 
my sheep/^ 

We have here in this wonderful dialogue of Jesus 
and Peter a grand, fundamental truth forcibly brought 
out. There are two great words in the New Testamenti 
which are translated love in the E. V. — agapee — which 
means divine love — i. e.^ of the divine nature (1 Jolm 
oh. 4) — which is utterly alien to fallen humanity; never 
felt nor known till the Holy Ghost pours it out into the 
heart in regeneration (Eom. 5:5). The other word is 
philia (human love), indigenous in all people, and seen 
in animals. It is the love of consanguinity and friend- 
ship, and is destitute of any element of the divine life. 
In this dialogue Jesus uses agapee in the firist two inter- 
rogations, while Peter uses philia throughout the entire 
dialogue. This word simply means the love of friend- 
ship, which Peter had for Jesus in an ex'ceedingly prom- 
inent degree. The reason why the third question grieved 
Peter, was because Jesus, dropping His word agapee, 
took Peter^s philia, and said, ^^Now, Peter, do you truly 
love me as a friend ?^^ He thus insinuatingly reminds 
him of His bad treatment when He was on trial before 
the high priest. The question which Jesus propounded 
was quite after the order of an old-style camp-meetings 
in which the leader probes down to the bottom -of the 
heart, eliciting candid answers in reference to their spir- 
itual state. In Peter^s ease, Jesus asked him if he had 
Holy Ghost religion, and how he was getting along in 
the divine life. This is clearly involved in the question. 



The Resurrection. 421 

^^Do you love me with divine love^ more than these ?'^ 
We see that Peter really evaded the Savior^s question, 
by simply responding : ^^I love Thee as a friend/^ which 
no one would call in question. During the w^hole dia- 
logue^ Peter held on to this word with which he set out^ 
which simply means the love of friendship ; while Jesus 
finally drops His word^ which, means the love of God 
(i. e.^ the love which is in the heart of God^ and whicli 
is in no human heart until the Holy Ghost pours it out)^ 
and takes Peter^s word^ which means only the love of 
friendship^ and tests him- on it. This test^ Peter was not 
only willing to bear^ but even grieved because Jesus- 
turned it on him; thus indirectly^ and very justly, im- 
peaching his true and real friendship, and flooding him 
with grief over the sad remembrance of his thrice denial. 
You observe that Jesus here charges Peter to feed Hi^ 
lambs (i. e., young converts), and the sheep, and to shep- 
herd them all — i. e.^ protect them from Satan^s wolves. 
lead them into green pastures, and give them rest by the 
still waters. He no-w also proceeds to predict Peter^? 
mart3rrdom, which took place at Eome, under the reign 
of bloody Js'ero. ^\Tien Peter now asked Him a word 
about John, who was standing by, he responds, ^Tf I 
m-ay wish him to remain until I eome, what is that to 
thee?^^ Thus He gives rise to the report that John 
would never die, which is well corroborated by Ireneus 
and Justin Martyr, who lived and wrote in the second 
century, certifies that John, the apostl-e, was translated 
to heaven. 

Matt. 28 :16. ^^And the eleven disciples departed 
into Galilee into the mountain wh^ere Jesus commanded 
them^ and seeing Him they worshipped Him ; and soma 



422 Life of Jesus and His Apostles. 

doubted. And Jesus^ having come to them, spoke, say- 
ing to them, "All authority is given unto me in heaven 
and upon earth, going therefore, disciple all the Gen- 
tiles, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of 
the Son, and of the Holy Ghost^ teaching them to ob- 
serve all things, so many as I commanded you; and, 
behold, I am with you all the days unto the end of the 
age/^ 

This is the great gospel commission, pursuant to 
which the Lord^s disciples have been constantly preach- 
ing ever since. The E. V. has ^^teach^^ twice, whereas 
•it only, in Greek, occurs once, the first word being 
matheusate, which means, make disciples, the baptizing 
and teaching coming on' afterward. A sinner cannot 
possibly be a disciple of Christ. Christians only are dis- 
ciples, hence the only way to make disciples is to got 
sinners truly and thoroughly regenerated by the 
Holy Ghost, born again, and adopted into the family 
of God. The fallen -church has woefully pervert- 
ed the gospel commission, construing it that we* make 
disciples by baptizing sinners and teaching them. Wa- 
ter baptism, which is here meant, is the Lord^s mark on 
His own people. When applied to sinners it is illusory 
and damaging to their souls, grievous to the Holy Spirit. 
By this perverted view of the commission, the churches 
have been filled up and burdened to death with uncon- 
verted people, who eventually get into office, come to the 
front and rule the church, to her utter ruin. This we 
have seen sadly illustrated in Catholicism during the 
last thousand years, and now see making alarming in- 
roads into the Protestant churches. If we follow the 
commission of Jesus, we must preach, pray and work 



The Resurrection, 423 

till we get people soundly and radically converted to 
Grod. Then they are ready for baptism and teaching. 
Our Lord here assures us ol His presence w^ith us to the 
end of the age. Then awr.y with the dogma that the 
age of miracles is passed^ when the Omnipotent Miracle- 
worker is here^ down to the end of the gospel age^ when 
He will return in His glory. While living on the earth, 
He predicted that His enemies would kill Him^ but He 
promised to send the Holy Ghost, whom they cannot 
kill, because He has no mortal body. The Holy Ghost 
is none other than the Spirit of Jesus (Acts 5:4-9). 
Paul informs us (1 Cor. 15:7) that our Lord also ap- 
peared to James. Acts 1 :3. "To whom also He pre- 
sented himself alive after He suffered, by many testi- 
monials, being seen by them forty days and speaking the 
things concerning the kingdom of God. And having as- 
sembled them, He commanded them not to depart from 
Jerusalem, but to await the promise of the Father, 
which you heard from me: that John indeed baptized 
with water, but you shall be haptized with the Holy 
Ghost not many days hence.^' 

Here is our Lord^s clear and positive promise of the 
baptism with the Holy Ghost, which they received on the 
day of Pentecost, pursuant to the promise of the Father 
in the Abrahamic covenant, and for which He positive- 
ly commanded them to wait at Jerusalem. Thait com- 
mand is as obligatory on their successors as it was on 
them. 3 Tim. 11:2. ^These things commit thou to 
faithful men, who shall also be competent to teach oth- 
ers.^^ Here we have the real apostolical succession, il- 
lustrating the fact that provision is made for the per- 



424 Life of. Jesus and His Apostles. 

petuity of the gospel, without addition or subtraction, 
to the end of time. 

V. 6. ^""Then they, having beeTi assembled, asked 
Him, saying, Lord, do you at this time restore the king- 
dom to Israel? And He said to them. It is not of you 
to know the times or se-aso-ns, which the Father placed iu 
His own authority/^ Here is no insinuation that He is 
not g^'oing to restore the kingdom to Israel, which He 
will certainly do when He conies in His glory, estahlish- 
ing the millennial theocracy in all the earth: but He 
simply states that the ages and epochs are administered 
by the Father. 

^^But you shall receive power (Gr., dynamite), the 
Holy Grhost having come upon 3^ou: and you shall be 
w^itnesses to me in Jerusalem and all Judea, and Sa- 
maria, and to the extremity of the earth/^ 

The E. V. translates this beautiful and invaluable 
passage very badly : ^^You shall receive power after the 
Holy Ghost has come upon you/^ This involves the 
idea that the power is separate and distinct from the ^ 
Holy Ghost, running people into the fanaticism of seek- 
ing the power instead of the Holy Ghost, who, in the 
capacity of the Omnipotent Executor of the Trinity, is 
really the o-nly power on the earth, the personal succes- 
sor of the ascended Savior. When you receive the Holy 
Ghost, you receivo this power, which gives you victory 
over the w^rld, the flesh and the devil, and, as you here 
see, makes you ai witness for the Lord, and His power to 
save to the utmost, in all place:s and under all circum- 
stances. 



CHAPTER XYIII. 

ASCENSION INTO HEAVEN. 

V 

Luke 24:50-53. "He led them out even unto Beth- 
any, and lifting up His hands, He blessed them. And it 
came to- pass, while He was blessing them, He parted 
from them, and was borne np into heaven.^' 

Acts 1 :9-12. "Speaking these things, they looking, 
He was carried np; and a €loud received Him from 
their eyes. And while they were gazing np to heaven, 
He going, behold two men stood by them in white ap- 
parel, who also said. Ye Galilean men, why stand ye 
gazing np into heaven ? This same Jesns, who has been 
taken np from yon into heaven, will so come in the 
manner in which ye saw Him going into heaven.''^ 

You see here, He led them 'ont as far as Bethany, 
which, stands on the southeastern slopes of Mt. Olivet. 
It also states that after His ascension, th^ disciples re- 
turn from Mt. Olivet to Jerusalem. If you ever visit 
the Holy Land, they will point you. out the spot on the 
summit and tell you. There the feet of Jesus last rested 
on the earth. Very near that spot you will find a mag- 
nificent stone tow^r 250 feet high, built for the especialj 
accommodation of pilgrim's., who so much desire to fol- 
low their Lord just as far as possible. During both of 
my tours I ascended that tower to its pinnacle, from 
which I enjoyed a most extensive view of the land, 
reaching westward to the great sea ; eastward to the Jor- 
dan and the Dead Sea ; northward to great Mt. Hermon, 

425 



426 Life of Jesus and His Apostles, 

far away in Syria ; and southward beyond the Eiver of 
Egypt^ till vision is eclipsed in ether blue ; Mt. Pisgah. 
the Land of Moab, Mt. Gilead and the Great East being 
very conspicuous. Mt. Olivet is the highest in South 
Canaan. So w^hen its altihide is augmented by this lofty 
tower^ you feel as though you had certainly SJtarted on 
your journey in pursuit of your ascended Lord. Gazing 
up the shimmeTing tracks as I opine^ still luminous with 
His ascension glory^ I longed for my pinions of flight, 
that I might fly away and join Him beyond the stars; 
so I must confess I came down both times with a de- 
gree of reluctance. 

You see here how cl^ar, unmistakable and pacific the 
inspired aflirmation, that the s-ame identical Jesus^ i. e., 
the glorified Man Jesus^ who w^as born in Bethlehem, 
rode into Jerusalem on the donkey^ stood before Pilate, 
hung on the cross^ lay in the sepulchre^ and has ascend- 
ed into heaven, wdll certainly come again in like man- 
ner; i. e., encircled with white clouds and aocompanie'd 
by angels. What in all the Bible is more clearly re- 
vealed than the literal, personal return of Jesus to the 
earth. "His feet shall stand again on Mt. Olive t^^ (Zech. 
14:4). There is no lack of harmony in the statement 
that He went up from Bethany, which is not on the 
summit, but on the eas'tern slope, and the record of His 
ascension from Mt. Olivet, for a spur of the mountain 
actually juts out over Bethany. At that time the town 
was so much larger than at present, I doubt not that 
a portion of it was built on that spur. 

Acts 1 :12. ''And they returned from the Mount 
called Olivet, wdiich is from Jerusalem, a Sab- 
bathday^s journey.^^ Luke 24:52. ''And worshiping 



Ascension Into Heaven. • 427 

Him, they returned into Jerusalem with great joy, and 
were constantly in the temple^ praising and blessing 
God/^ When the Lord so frequently told them that He 
was going away, it broke their hearts, because they did 
not have sufficient light on the plan of salvation to look 
down into the great things of God and see the stupen- 
dous problem of redemption. But now that He has 
risen in majesty, power and victory, and ascended to 
heaven in His glory, they rejoice and' praise God night 
and day. 

John 20:30. ^^And many other miracles Jesms did 
in the presence of His disciples, which have not been 
written in this book; but these have been wTitten that 
you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, and that be- 
lieving, you may have life in Him.^^ The entire problem 
of ^salvation, involving life and immortality, is solved 
by 'Simple faith in the infallible word of God. Jesus 
came from heaven, took our sins upon Him, bled and 
died as our atoning substitute, satisfied the violated 
law, triumphed over death, hell and the grave, having 
achieved, a complete victory for every guilty soul; actu- 
ally blockading hell with His o\vn body, bridging the 
chasm, between earth and hell with His great and glori- 
ous vicarious atonement, forever sweeping away the ne- 
cessity for the damnation of a solitary soul. All this 
we receive as a free, gracious and unmerited gift by sim- 
ple faith in Him. 

Eph. 4:8. "Therefore,^^ He says, ^Tiaving ascended 
upon high. He led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto 
the people.' And what is it that He descended first into 
the lower parts of the earth. He that descended is He 
that also ascended above all the heavens, in order that 



428 % Life of Jesus and His^ Apostles, 

He maj' fill all things/^ You remember^ the sixth chap- 
ter O'f this book expoiind»s quite a multiplicity of scrip- 
tures setting fbrth the descension of the human soul of 
Jesus into Hades^ vi-siting hell and proclaiming His Cal- 
vary victory 'over the devil and all the powers of dark- 
ness; then^ crossing the intervening ohasm (Luke 16: 
26), He enters the 0. T. Paradise (Abraham^s bosom), 
where^ pursuant to His promise on the cross^ He meets 
the penitent thief and all the mighty host of 0. T. 
saints, who have gathered thither since the days of Abel ; 
spends the Sabbath with them. With the incoming new 
week, He abolishes that Intermediate Paradise, and leads 
them up with Him, a glorious, triumphant captive host, 
all having been, rescued, by His omnipotent arm, from 
the devil. He reaches the sepulchre with the first 
rising gleam of the Orient, receives His bod}", meets 
the disciples en eight different O'ccasions, finishing up 
the grand curriculum which He began three years pre- 
viously, and ascended from Mt. Olivet into heaven. 

Take note that ^^'^He was the first fruits of them that 
slept.^^ Others had been rai'sed from the dead, but hav- 
ing received their glorified bodies, they consequently died 
again. So he must lead the way into the glorified home 
of the Father and the unf 3,llen angels, which He evacu- 
ated when He came down to suffer and to die for us 
guilty millions. N. B. None of these 0. T. saints had 
their resurrected bbdies. Enoch, Elijah and Moses, hav- 
ing gone to heaven with their glorified bodies, of course 
were not along with this vast sacramental host, who had 
remained in Abraham's bosom till the coven-ant, which 
gives honor to Abraham's name, was sealed by the blood 
of Christ. Therefore, this mighty host of disembodied 



Ascension Into Heaven. 429 

saints, whom Jesus led with Him in ascension from the 
0. T. Paradise, remain with Him on the earth during 
the forty days which elapsed from His resurrection to 
His ascension. 

We feel surprised that we hear so little mention m'ade 
of His presence with His disciples during these forty 
days. Only eight times do we hear of His meeting 
them and no allusion to His spending the night with 
them. Our bewilderment OA^er this problem is somewhat 
relieved when we consider the presence of this innumer- 
able host with Him, all getting ready for their flight 
into heaven. They were invisible, from the simple fact 
that they were disembodied, He alone being visible, be- 
cause He had His body. But I trow they are all arourd 
Him, a glorified, shining host of blood-washed spirits, 
when He ascends from Mt. Olivet. 

As they winged their flight through the void im- 
mense, passing rolling worlds, wheeling spheres, flam- 
ing comet-s, glo>wing suns, sweeping through glittering 
constellations, the gorgeous glory of the Celestial Me- 
tropolis must now have burst upon their enraptured vis- 
ion. The prophetic eye of David (Ps. 24) catches a 
view of this triumphant scene, and he raises the roaring 
shout: ^^Lift up your heads, 0' ye gates; and be ye 
lifted up, ye everlasting doors; and let the King of 
glory come in.^^ Then the response is shouted back 
from the mighty angels, the honored custodians of the 
Pearly Gates: 'T^Oio is this King of Glory ? The Lord, 
mighty to save, and strong to deliver.^'' Behold, the 
gates siwing wide, and lift high, while millions of voices 
roar: ''Welcome home. King of Glory!'' The Con- 
queror of Mt. Calvary enters triumphantly the wide 



430 Life of Jesus and His Apostles, 

^pen portals^ with. Abraham on His right and Job on 
His left^ and the shining platoon of patriarchs and 
prophets all sweeping into the Xew Jerusalem, washed 
in the blood of the Lamb. Meanwhile the Siacramental 
millions of 0. T. saints^ innumerable as the sands upon 
the seashore^ and the 'stars that twinkle in the firma- 
ment, beat their march in solid columns over the heav- 
enly threshold into the Xew Jerusalem amid the saluta- 
tions of countless billions and multiplied trillions of un- 
fallen angels from millions of worlds never darkened by 
sin. These have gathered thither to witness and enjoy 
the grandest ovation in the history of the universe. It 
is the Son of God returning in triumph from the battle- 
fields of earth, where He has vanquished sin, death and 
hell, and returns accompanied by the blood-washed mil- 
lions whom He has rescued from, the devil, and who- now 
adorn His triumphant entry into the New Jerusalem, 
All heaven is vocal wdth the shouts of triumph. ISTow 
halting before the effulgent glory of His Father^s throne, 
He responds, ^^Here am I and the- children Thou hasb 
given me.^^ The response gladdens the listening mil- 
lions: ^^Thou hast done all things w^ell; sit Thou on 
my right hand till I make Thine enemies Thy foot' 
stool.'' 

Now, mo thinks, the door is opened for testimony. 
Father Abraham mounts the heavenly pinnacle and 
tells his experience of conversion (Gen. xii,) and sanc- 
tification (ch. xv.). Job electrifies all by his thrilling 
rehearsal of the DeviPs defeat, the discomfiture of the 
false prophets, and the glorious vindication of the Al- 
mighty. All are thrilled by Daniel's recital of the night 
lie spent in the lion's den, sleeping sw^eetly, his head 



Ascension Into Heaven, 431 

pillowed on their sliagg)* mane;, while angel pinions fan 
his brow^ and charm to silence all the lions by tlieir 
sweet Inllabies. Shadrack;, Meshach^ and Abedaiego hold 
Ihe millions spellbound^, telling about the night they 
•spent in fiery furnace with the Form of the Fourth 
present with them. Isaiah thrills all by his testimony 
to God^s wonderful^ sustaining grace^ while they cut 
him in twain with a cruel saw\ The angels seem to nev- 
er tire listening to the testimonies of these blood- 
washed saints. Since the sons of Grod all shouted for 
joy at creation^s birth, and answered the anthems of the 
■morning stars, which sang together as they contem- 
plated the stupendous glory, when worlds from shape- 
less chaos roU'ed out, responsive to the omnific m'andate, 
and took their piaces in the plane of the ecliptic^ there 
to shine and shout forever. 'SeYer has Heaven known 
an ovation comparable to this; and never will it, till 
tlie Lord returns from His second advent, accompanied 
by His Bride in her transfigured glory. 



CHAPTER XIX. 



THE APOSTLES. 



John the Baptist^ tliougli not nominally an apostle, 
but a prophet;, the last and greatest of the old dispen- 
sation^ yet deserves comradeship with the apostles of 
our Lord^ as he was the intermediate link^ connecting 
the dispensations in an unbroken chain of truths right- 
eousness and holiness. Apostle is from apo, '''from^^ and 
stello "to send/^ Hence he is one sent of God, com- 
missioned from Heaven^ to pro'claim the w^ay of salva- 
tion. John was sent as a messenger (Mai. 3:1) before 
the face of Christy, to prepare the way — ^to get the peo- 
ple read}^ to receive Him — and was actually honored 
with the inauguratory ceremony, introducing Him into 
His official Messiahship. The province of all the apos- 
tles and their successors was to preach the kingdom of 
Heaven in contradistinction to the law and the prophets. 
This, John the Baptist did with all his might, crying 
aloud: ^^Eepent ye, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at 
hand.^^ John combined the austerities of the law, so 
conducive to genuine repentance, and the graces of the 
gospel, which give us victory over sin, death, the world 
and Satan. John was really a model preacher in ev- 
ery respect. How we need a million like him now, 
who could board and clothe themselves on $250 a year ! 
Oh, how we would sweep the world with a cj^clone of 
gospel fire ! 

It is folly to say that John did not eat the animal 

432 



Tlie Aposilcs. 433 

locust; as tlie Greek is unmistakable, enforcing that 
conclusion, which is also corroborated by the fact that 
Bedouins, who roam all over the wilderness of Judea 
to this day, gather great camel-loads of the locusts, car- 
ry them to their villages, and devour them as a lux- 
ury. They are still there. I saw them in vast quanti- 
ties, nothing to do but gather them up from the ground, 
where they lie in piles. 

John was a man of inflexible heroism; too true to 
be bought, and too brave to be intimidiated. He faced 
the proud hierarchy, and called them a generation of 
vipers, positiveh' refusing to baptize them because they 
did not exhibit the fruits of true humiliation and godly 
sorrow for sin. He exposed the adulterous marriage of 
the King and Queen, insulting them so grossly that 
they cut hisi head off at Herod^s house in Macherus, 
on the east coast of the Dead Sea, in the Land of Moab, 
where his heroic dust now awaits the first resurrection. 
Multitudes of modern m.etropolitan preachers would 
lose their ecclesiastical heads as quickly as John lost 
his physical one if they would dare to expose the adul- 
tery and other damning sins of their hearers. John the 
Baptist is really a model preacher for every age. 

Peter^ whose name was Simon, till Jesus met him^ 
and looking down into the deep interior of his heart 
saw the solid rock, and consequently called him Peter; 
which is a Greek word meaning stone; while the He- 
brew word, Cephas has the same meaning. The world 
never saw the rock in Peter till after the fires of Pento- 
eosit consumed the debris, and revealed the inflexible 
rock. Peter was quite vacillating. You see how he dis- 
graced himself in Gethsemane and the Judgment Hall. 



434: Life of Jesus and Ilis Apostles. 

But after the fiery baptism oame on him at Pentecost he 
was never known to flicker, save where he dissembled 
at Antioch, when the Jews came from Jerusalem (Gal. 
2 :11, 12). He lived a hero and died a martyr. He was 
a native of Bethsaida, which stood on the N. W. coast of 
the Galilean Sea. He and his brother Andrew, were 
the sons of Jonas. Peter was the oldest of all the 
apostles, being a married man of perhaps forty years, 
and living in Capernaum, when our Savior entered upon 
His ministry. He, with others called to the apostleship, 
was a disciple of John the Baptist. He, with James 
and John, seems to have enjoyed a deeper insight into 
spiritual things than their comrades. Consequently, 
they were honored above the other nine; e. g., in the 
resurrection of Jairus^ daughter they were permitted to 
accompany Jesnis along with the father and mother; 
they onl}^ were permitted to witness the glory on the 
Mount of Transfiguration. Jesus also separated them 
from their companions in Gethsemane, when He went 
to pray. Peter^s seniority, doubtless, along with his 
quick discernment and sprightly disposition, gave him 
pre-eminence among the apostles. In the final distri- 
bution of the world, pursuant to Matthew^s commis- 
sion, Peter received Italy, with its popular cities, and 
among them great Eome. So he dates his writing at 
Babylon, which was at that time appUed to Eome, which 
all exponents recognize as the Babylon of prophecy. 

N". B. You know in my sketches of the apostles I 
am largely dependent on uninspird history, that of 
Peter being no exception. When I wais in Eome, riding 
out to the catacombs, where the saints made themselves 
dens in the ground to hide from their enemies during 



Tlie Apostles. 435 

the max'tyr ages^ I glanced my eye to the left and saw 
a stone church edifice superscribed, Domine, quo is-ne — 
^^Lord, whither goest Thou?'^ History says that when 
Xero had proclaimed his bloody edict against the Chris- 
tians^ pursuant to which tliey had already beheaded 
Paul; the saints prevailed on Peter to leave the city, 
that they might not have to give up both of the great 
apostles at the same time. Consequently he -vas /^^oing 
out in the dead of night, miaking his escape along the 
Appian way; when suddenly he sees Jesus coming to 
meet him, 'walking swiftly. Turning, he salutes Him : 
^^Lord, whither goest Thou ?^^ He responds, ''^I im go- 
ing to Eome to be crucified again, and th?it moment 
vanishes out of his sight. Peter takes the hint, con- 
cludes that it means for him to be crucified at Eome. 
Therefore he turns back, and abides his destiny. They 
crucified him on the Campus Marcius, with his head 
down at his own request, alleging that he was not 
worthy to be crucified in the same posture in which his 
Lord was, seeing he had once denied Him. It is claimed 
that St. Peter^s Cathedral, which cost two hundred 
millions of dollars and took two hundred years to build 
is 835 feet long, 330 feet wide, and 448 feet high; occu- 
pies the identical spot on which he was crucified. I saw 
the gold coffin, said to contain his remains. The Prot- 
estant churches generally discredit the history of Pe- 
ter^s ministry and martyrdom at Eome. I trow it is 
done simply in order to refute the papistical allegory of 
founding the church on Peter, which is an erroneous 
interpretation of Matt. 16 :18. In order to make good 
this hypothesis, they recognize Peter as the first Pope. 
I saw in St. Peter's Cathedral, the statuary of all the 



436 Life of Jesus and His Apostles. 

two lunulrcd and eighty-eiglit popes^ in consecutive or- 
der from Peter down to Leo XIII., the present incum- 
bent; thus exhihiting Peter as the first Pope. Matt. 
16 :18 stands in capital letters, written in the Ladn 
language on the lofty interior corridors of St. Peter's 
Cathedral, at least three hundred feet above the marble 
floor, yet conspicuous for all to read : ^^Thou art Peter, 
and on this roek will I build' my church; and the gates 
of hell shall not prevail against it. I will give unto thee 
the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven^ and whatsoever 
thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in Heaven.^^ 
This is the pillar of the Eoman Catholic church, with 
all her boasted and arrogant assumptions, alleging 
that the church was built on Peter, and that Jesus gave 
him the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven ; and that Peter 
was the first Pope, transmitting the church and the key 
power to his successors indefinitely. You will see in 
my commentary, vol. 6, that this is all an erroneous in- 
terpretation; the Greek simply means that the church 
was built on the Christhood of Jesus, while the Word 
which He transmitted to Peter, all the apostles and 
their successors, is the key. As to the papistical dogma, 
claiming that Peter was the first Pope, it is utterly 
groundless, as there never was a Pope until the seventh 
cntury, when Procas, King of Italy^ crowned Boniface 
III supreme pontificate of all the churches; thus inau- 
gurating the papacy. Therefore, it is an utter super- 
fluity for the Protestants to deny the ministry and mar- 
tyrdom of Peter at Eome, in order to upset the papacy. 
The inspired record dating his writings at Babylon, 
which at that time, and in all subsequent ages, has been 
applied to Eome, is abundantly tenable; especially in 



The Apostles. 437 

view of the fact that Ave have no account of his or any 
other apostle^s ever preaching at old Babylon, which had 
long been in ntter rnin, and without an inhabitant^ as 
it is at this day. 

Paul^ in Greek, means the little one, a slight modi- 
fication of Sanl^ his birthname, which means grand, and 
well applied to him in his ecclesiastical pomp and pag- 
centiiry, when Procas, King of Italy, croT^med Boniface 
Adam the iirst was slain, in his notable Arabian expe- 
rience (Gal. 1 and Eom, 8) ; as entire sanctification 
makes us all little, even so small, that the devil can 
never find us, unless we again imbibe depravity, get • 
self-important, and begin to swell. 

On my last return voyage I visited Cilicia, Pau?s 
D'ative land, where he was bom in the city oi Tarsus, 
which had been enfranchised by the Emperors, so that 
Paul was born a free citizen of the Eoman empire. A 
gigantic intellectualist, Paul received a splendid educa- 
tion in the Greek colleges of Tarsus, and afterward took 
a thorough course in the Hebrew schools of Jerusalem, 
under the presidency of the great Eabbi, Gamaliel. His 
extraordinary intellect, 'and finished education, opened 
the door to the highest ecclesiastical position and influ- 
ence, giving him prominence in the Sanhedrim. Hence 
his conspicuous leadership in the persecution of the 
Christians, martyrdom of Stephen and others. In his 
enthusiasm he is not content to drive heresy out of his 
own country, but secures authorit)^ from, the chief 
priests to exterminate it in Damascus, the capital of 
Syria, which was the oldest city in the world, havmg 
been founded by Shem, the son of Xoah. I stood on 
the spot two years ago, where the Lord shone down 



438 Life cf Jesus and Ills Apostles, 

from Heaven^ with a brilliancy eclipsing the splend«. f 
of the noonday sun^ revealing Jesns to the persecutor. 
I visited the house of Judas in Damascus, where, under 
the ministry of Ananias, he was gloriously converted, 
three days after he saw Jesus on the way, and heard 
His voicCo I saw the place in the east wall of the city, 
where the saints) at midnight let him down in a basket, 
andi thus savtd his life. Under a po^verful conviction 
of indwelling sin after his conversion in Damascus, he 
sought three years in- Arabia and got wonderfully sanc- 
tified. Eom. 7 :24: and Gal. 1 :15. The Lord afterward 
appeared to him in the Temple at Jerusalem and called 
him to the apostleship of the Gentiles. 

About A. D. -40, he and Barnabas were sent by the 
church at Antioch, on^ the first missionary tour of the 
go-spel age. Soon afterward* accompanied by Silas, Tim- 
othy and Luke, pursuant to a night vision, he crossed 
the Aegean Sea and preached the gospel in the princi- 
pal cities of Greece. Thus he unfurled the blood-stain- 
ed baniner to the nations of Europe, from which Ameri- 
ca was settled; making us in a sense the spiritual chil- 
dren of the apostle Paul. In A. D. 58, he was arrested 
in Jerusalem; held* a prisoner in Csesarea; carried by 
the Eomans to stand before the Emperor; having been 
miraculously delivered from a terrible storm on the 
sea, which, after a fortnight, WTecked them on the coast 
of Ma'lita. Here he was miraculously delivered from 
the venomous serpent, which, they told me when I was 
there in 1895, still ahounds on that island. 

Feb. 61 A. D. He arrives in Eome; preaches two 
years in his ovm hired house, which is now a Christian 
church (I was in it two years ago). After the death 



The Apostles, 439 

of Biirrus^ his imperial friend and defender, they take 
him out of his hired house and put him in the military 
barracks, Tvhere he preaches to the soldiers and many 
others. Finally h^e stands his trial before Xero, and 
is liberated^ for want of evidence, as none of the 
Jews from Jerusalem, either by person or proxy, saw 
proper to appear against him. Then he makes another 
great tour through Europe and Asia, preaching the 
gospel to all the churches, till the famous conflagration 
of Eome, which swept like an ocean of flame for six 
dajs and seven nights, and was believed to have been 
caused by Xero, the Emperor ; who meanwhile sat upon 
a loftj^ tower, singing, to the accompaniment of his vio- 
lin, ^The Destruction of Troy/^ Such were the awful 
outbursts of indignation against the Emperor, under 
the suspicion that he had caused the conflagration, tbat 
he sought to vindicate himself, by charging the awful 
crime on the Christians, issuing the bloody edict, which, 
re-enacted by his soiiccessors, kept a solid river of blood 
flowing and volumes of martjT fires roaring for 250 
years, till the conversion of Constantine. Meanwhile a 
hundred millions of martyrs bled'. Though Paul was 
not at Eome at this time of the conflagration, as a 
leader of the Christians, they soon arrested him at 
Xicopolis, in Xorthern Greece, carried him to Eome, 
where again he stood before Xero, charged of leader- 
ship among the Christians, who, they said, burnt Eome. 
I have frequently stood in the old Judgment Hall, 
where Paul and Peter stood before Xero, and receiveCC 
their sentences of condemnation, to be incarcerated in 
the gloomy old Mamartine Prison; from which they 
were led out to execution. Peter went to the Cam- 



440 Life of Jesus and His Apostles. 

pus Marcius, within the city^ for crucifixion ; and Paul, 
being a Eoman citizen, and consequently complimented 
with the more honorable death of decapitation, is led 
out through the gate, which to this day bears his name, 
to a spot in the suburbs, where lie is beheaded. Tra- 
dition says his head bounded three times, a spring of 
hying water leaped up at each spot where it struck the 
ground, and has been flo'wing ever since, I saw and 
drank from those three springs, about ten feet apart. 
Near the spot has been built St. PauPs Cathedral, con- 
structed exclusively of the finest marble, all transported 
from xA.frica at the cost of fifty-five millions of dollars, 
and fifty-five years'' labor. 

Matthew. His conversion is related by himself, 
Luke, and John, tlnlike his apostolic comrades, who, 
as a rule, were very poor, Matthew was rich, being a 
revenue officer in the Poman government. Pie had 
plenty of money, and was accumulating rapidty, , when 
one bright day, wdiile sitting at the table in his office, the 
money stacked up all around him, Jesus passes by, and 
calls him. He responds in the affirmative, only waiting 
long enough to make a great feast, to which he invited 
his unsaved friends and comrades; with the end in view 
that he might bring them under the influence of Jesus, 
whom, with His disciples, he invited to attend and share 
the festival. Matthew had doubtle'ss often heard Je- 
sus preach on the streets, (as they lived in the same 
city, Capernaum) ; the Holy Spirit having utilized that 
preaching in the performance of His pre-venient work, 
getting Matthew ready for the Master^s call. His con- 
version is phenomenal in the fact that he suddenly for- 
sook wealth, honors, and everything to follow Jesus. 



The Apostles. 441 

His conversion proved genuine. Xotwithstanding the 
sudden transition from wealth and honor to poverty^ 
toil and persecution^ he never wavered an iota. He 
wrote his gospel in Judea for the Jews^ A. D. 38^ but 
in Greeks from which it was soon translated into He- 
breW;, to augment its usefulness- to the Jewish Chris- 
tians. In the allotment of the whole world to the 
Twelve .Apostles,, pursuant to the Lord-'s commission, 
(Matt. 28:19), Matthew received Ethiopia, a great and 
ancient country in Central Africa, for his field of la- 
bor. He nobly responded, accepted the situation, trav^ 
eling all over the country and preaching courageously, 
till bloody death set him free, and he went shouting 
through eruel martyrdom up to meet his Lord, whom he 
had forsaken all to follow at every co&t. 

Mark^ the writer of the gospel which bears his name, 
was not one of the original Twelve. During the minis- 
try of our Lord he was but a youth in the home of his 
mother in Jerusalem. We first hear of him as a junior 
preacher, accompanying his Uncle Barnabas and Paul on 
their missionary tourg from Antioch, over to Cyprus, a 
large island in the Mediterranean Sea, and the native 
land of Barnabas; then back to the continent, and into 
Pamphylia, where he deserted them and returned to 
Jerusalem. Palestine borders on Moab, Ammon and 
Idumea. Great Arabia reaches out nearly two thousand 
miles towards sunrise, with her vast, sandy deserts; 
roamed over by the Bedouins, wdio were born robbers, 
the wild sons of Ishmael and Esau; in reference to 
w^hom God said, ^^His band shall be against every man^s 
hand, and every man^s hand against him.^^ Therefore, 
the robbers have always been troublesome in that coun- 



442 Life of Jesus and His Apostles, 

try^ infesting deserts and mountains. They are these 
wild bedouins^ Luke 10. During both of my tours in 
that country ;, I kept with me constantly an armed drag- 
oman^ -and besides^ in the most dangerous places an 
armed escort^ to keep the robbers off me. They are 
terrible^ even now; not very apt to kill you^ but will 
take away everything you have^ leaving you not a stitch 
of clothing. At that time the m-ountains between the 
sea-shore and the highlands were badly infested with 
robbers. Therefore the critics believe the robbers got 
hold of Mark^ treated him severely, the effect being to 
iscare him out of the Lord's work. So finding a home- 
w^ard-boun'd ship, embarking, he made his escape. For 
this reason Paul refused to take him on his second evan- 
gelistic tour, having quite a controversy with Barnabas, 
who felt anxious to hold on to his cousin and make 
something out of him. There was no temper in this 
controversy, the Greek plainly revealing that it was a 
divine intervention to separate Paul and Barnaba'S, as 
each was amply competent to head an evangelistic band, 
the two organizations evidently doing much more good 
than one. 

After this division, Mark accompanied his uncle, 
Barnabas, for an unknown length of time. That Paul 
had the very kindest brotherly affection for ilark, is 
abundantly evinced in the fact that he afterward wrote 
to Timothy, ^^Send Mark to me; he will be useful to 
me in the ministry.^' In the distribution of the world, 
pursuant to the commission, Mark received Egypt for 
his field O'f labor. He nobly responded, faithfully pere- 
grinated the land of Ham, preaching the gospel with the 
Holy Ghost sent down from heaven till bloody martyr- 



The Apostles. 4-13 

doni set him freo. He was put to death in Alexandria 
by a cruel mch^ who dragged him through the streets 
till he expired. It is said that Mark wrote his gospel 
in Eome for the Eomans^ dictated by Peter^ A. D. 63. 

Luke was not one of the original twelve^ but a physi- 
cian^ or at least a medical student in Antioch, during 
our Lord^s ministry^ and doubtless converted by Paul 
and Barnabas during the j^ear they spent in Antioch, 
about seven years after the Lord^s ascension. We first 
hear of him^, Acts 16^ when he accompanied Paul on his 
second missionary tour. He afterward remained with 
Paul^ serving as his em'anuensis to the end of his life, 
istapng with him during his long imprisonments in Je- 
rusalem^ Caesarea and Eome^ till he laid his head on 
Kero^s block. During the violent persecution^ Luke w^a? 
hanged on an olive tree in Greece. 

Joh:n' was^ like so many of his apostolical comrades, 
first a- disciple of John the Baptist. When he saw him 
point out Jesus and heard him say^ ^^Behold the Lamb 
of God that taketh away the sin of the world/^ unhesi- 
tatingly he bade adieu to the eloquent Baptist and fol- 
lowed Jesus, honored to be His first convert. Immedi- 
ately he goes to work, recruiting converts for Jesus. His 
modesty is phenomenal, and is manifest in the fact that 
be never does call his own name. He is eminent as the 
Apostle of Love, always sitting next to Jesus, his spir- 
ituality evidently deeper and more seraphic than that 
of any other apostle. His custodianship of the Lordf's 
■mother disqualified him to itinerate so extensively and 
indiscriminately as his comrades. Ephesus, the great 
metropolis of Western Asia, became his pastorate, where 
he took care of his Lord^s mother till she joined Him 



444: Life of Jesus and Ills Apostles. 

in glory. During his percgrin-ations^ while preaching 
in Ecnie, A. D. 95, Doniitian, the Emperor, had him 
cast into a caldron of boiling oil, from which being mi- 
raculously delivered, he was banished to the lonely sea- 
girt Isle of Patmos, belonging to the Grecian Archi- 
pelago, in the Aegean Sea. Having arrived late Sat- 
urday evening, he spent the v/hcle night on his knees' in 
prayer. With day dawn, the glorified Savior came 
do\^TL and opened all heaven to him, and revealed the 
wonderful apocalyptic vision, vrhich vre have recorded in 
the Book of Eevelation. He v/as at least ten years 
younger than Jesns. We hear of nim in history still 
alive at Ephesus, when ICl years old. John Wesley 
and others, e. g., Irenaeu3 and Justin llartyr. Christian 
fathers, who wrote in the se'cond century, believed that 
he was translated to heaven alive, pursuant to our Lord\- 
w^ords in John 21. Why have vr-e no record of his trans- 
lation? Because John himself was the last writer, hav- 
ing ^Titten his gospel, epistles and propheciesi when 
about one hundred years old; or, I trow, dictated them 
to an emannensis. Hence you see, there was no one left 
to record his translation to heaven, v/hich must have 
taken place as late as A. D. 110, at least. John was 
really the patriarch of the Apostolic Church, surviving 
all his comrades a whole generation, thus standing 
alone thirty to fifty years after his apostolical comrades 
have gone to glory. 

James the Elder was an elder brother of John. 
These tw^o were the sons of Zebedee and Salome. They 
were denominated by our Lord, ^^Sons of Thunder,^^ be- 
cause they had voices like the roaring of the lion. Along 
with Peter, they were honored in being present at the 



The Apostles, 445 

resurrection of the daughter of Jairus in Capernaum; 
tJiey beheld the Lord's glory on the Mount of Trans- 
figuration^ and were separated from their companions 
to accompany their Lord in His prayer and agony in 
Gethsemane; thus evidencing the fact of their deeper 
insight into spiritual things. James, with his brother 
John^ sought the first place in His coming Kingdom. 
He got it, but it wa-s in bloody martyrdom, being the 
first of all to go from the cruel execution' block up to 
join the Lord in glory, at a very early diay in apostolic 
history. He was decapitated with a sword, by order 
of Herod Agrippa, about A. D. 43; that of Paul and 
Peter at Eome taking place A. D. 68. 

James the Less^ whose mother was a prominent dis- 
ciple, the ^^other Mary/^ who accompanied Mary Mag- 
dalene to the sepulchre, having followed Jesus in all 
His peregrinations in Galilee and Judea, was precip- 
itated from a pinnacle of the Temple, in order to kill 
him. Being very tenaciousi of life, they saw he was still 
alive, and they beat him to death with a fuUer^s club* 
History is quite complicated and much mystified in ref- 
erence to the Jameses. The Lord had four brothers — 
James, Judas, Simon and Jose«. It is believed that 
James and Judas, the Lordfs brothers, both became 
apostles. We have positive record (John 7) that when 
our Lord had been preaching two and a hal'f }'ears, His . 
own brothers did not believe on Him. This seem-s as- 
tonishinig. But do you not know that distanice lends 
enchantment, and it is much easier to believe great 
things about strangers far away than the inmates of 
our own homes. His brothers believed that He was a 
prophet of the Lord; but how exceedingly difficult for 



446 Life of Jesus and His Apostles, 

them to believe that their own brother^ Jesus^ with 
whom they had been brought up, was really the Lord^s 
M'essiah, the Eedeemer of Israel, and the Shiloh of 
prophecy. And when they cruelly killed Him, it broke 
the hearts of His loving brothers, who said, "Alas! 
Alas! our brother was a mighty prophet, but He ven- 
tured too far, gave His enemies the advantage, and th'ey 
have killed Him V^ But when He arose from the dead 
and flew up to heaven, they fell and rolled on the earth, 
leaped into the air, shouting uproariou'sly, "Well, after 
all, our dear brother is the Christy for whom patriarchs 
and prophets have been looking four thousand years!'' 
Then thej^ fell in with a tremendous boom. It is said 
that one of the Jameses was the brother of the Lord, 
and Judas, the brother of James, involving the conclu- 
sion that both James and Judas became apostles. A 
problem arises here as to which James wrote the epistle 
that bears his name, and whieh one was pastor of the 
Apostolic Church at Jerusalem'. He could not have 
been James the Elder, because we read of him through- 
out the Book of Acts, whereas James the Elder was be- 
headed in Ch. 12. The Armenian church, which is 
third numerically and- influentially at Jerusalem, the 
Greek being first and the Latin 'second, holds the Apos- 
tle James, the first pastor at Jerusalem, in about as 
mnch sanctity and reverence as the Catholics do Peter. 
The Armenian convent, said to accommodate 18,000 
pilgrims at a time, is the largest building in Jerusalem. 
It stands on Mt. Zion and is very m-agnificent. In it 
my guide, during both of my visits, led me to the sep- 
ulchre in which they say the head of James, which Her- 
od cut off, is buried. A red light burns there all the 



Tlie Apostles. 4-17 

time. My guide also pointed out to me the tomL in Zli. 
Olivet where he said the bodK' of the same Apostle 
James was buried. There seems to be a conflict in the 
matter^ as they hold that James the Elder^ whom Herod 
beheaded^ was the Jerus(alem pastor. Amid all the com- 
plications^ the facts better harmonize with the hypothe- 
sis that the Jerusalem bishop was James^ the brother 
of the Lord, promoted to that honor because of his 
brotherhood to the Christ of God; and) that the same 
James wrote the epistles. 

JuDE (John 14:22) was one of the original twelve. 
You find his name in the catalogue (Matt. 10). The 
translators ehanged liis name from Judas to Jijde, in 
order more clearly to oontraddstinguish him from Judas 
Iscariot, who had brought disgrace on the name. He 
is also called both Thaddeus and Lebbeus. In the par- 
tition of the world, Jude received Tartary, a great, 
old, heathen country, contiguous to China, as his field 
O'f labor. He went to it, peregrinated through and 
through, preaching the gospel with the Holy Ghost sent 
down from heaven, till the people became so enraged 
against him that they tied him up to a tree and shot 
his body full of arrows, thus enjojdng a shooting-match 
in the cruel martyrdiom of this faithful, flamnig herald 
of gospel grace. Hi^s epistle is short, but full of fire, 
lightning and dynamite. 

Andrew was a brother to Peter, and the son of Jo- 
nah, and second to John in becoming a disciple of Jesus. 
He received Armenia, in Central Asia, for his field of 
labor. He traversed it to and fro, preaching like a mes- 
senger from heaven. They finally crucified him on a 
transverse cross in the shape of the letter X. Conse- 



448 Life of Jesus and His Apostles. 

quently the Eoman Catholics have always called the X 
St. Andxew^'S cross. 

Bartholomew is identical with JSTathaniel, being 
^imply a patronymic^ i. e.^ a name taken from that of 
the father, very common in ancient times. Bar means 
eon; Toimy was the name of his father. Hemce they 
called him Bartholomew, which means the son of Tolmy. 
His ]Sr. T. record is grand and extraordinary, as Jesns. 
on sight, sainted him : ^^Behold, an Israelite indeed, in 
whom there is no gnile,^^ thns showing him np a faith- 
ful 'Son of A'braham, actually enjoying the sanctified 
experience (negative) in the 0. T. dispensation. Doubt- 
less h& and Mary were grand inspirations among the one 
hundred and twenty disciples praying those ten days' for 
the Pentecost, as they fortunately had preceded them 
into the N". T. experience. Bartholomew received 
Phrygia, a very ancient heathen country in North Cen- 
tral Asia, for his field of labor. His faithful, straight, 
clear. Holy Ghost preaching eventually stirred up such 
an awful animosity that the king ordered him to leave 
his country forever. On his failure to obey the royal 
mandate, the haughty monarch got so awfully mad that 
he ordered his oflicers tO' have him skinned alive. In 
this way that guileless Israelite and faithful apostle of 
Jesus laid down his life amid cruel knives cutting and 
tearing his skin from his writhing and convulsing body. 

Philip^ like Peter and Andrew, was also a native 
of the city of Bethsaidia, on the North-west coast of 
the Galilean Sea, about eight miles from Capernaum, 
the headquarters of our Lord^s ministry, and the home 
of Peter and Matthew\ He receives Syria, whose capi- 
tal is Damascus, for his field of labor. Baalbec, in that 



The Apostles. M9 

h 

country, situated in the Valley of Beca, between Mt. 
Lebanon and Mt. Antilebanon, was the celebrated me- 
tropolis of universal idolatry, said to be the city found- 
ed by Cain, when he left home on account of murder- 
ing his brother. When I eontemiplated its won-derful 
superstructure, which no power on earth today eau 
build, I became really credulous of the tradition which 
certifies that it was bxiilt bj antediluyian gianfe in the 
use of the mastodon, an antediluvian animal, larger 
than the elephant, whicTi has never been on the earth 
since the floodi. Baal is the sorn god, which fir&t won 
the hearts of nature^s simple, fallen children, and held 
them four thousand years. The Temple of the Sun at 
Baalbec, in magnitude, beauty and artisitie skill, has 
been the wonder of the ages. Many other magnificent 
temples are there en^loised by the gigantic walls of the 
citadel, impregnable by invading armies, and entered 
only through one snbterranean passage one hundred and 
twenty feet long, and erected for the protection of the 
gold and silver they gathered from the ends of the earth 
and piled up there as offerings to their gods: e. g., gol- 
den images of their gods the size of a grown man. 
When Philip came thither and dlared to preach against 
their pompous and magnificent idlolatiy, you are not 
surprised that they cruelly put him to death, remorse- 
lessly crucifying him. 

Simon Zelotes. He i»s also called' Simon, the Ca- 
naanite, which is a wrong txanjslation. The Canaanites 
were heathen aborigines Oif th^e Holy Land, and repro- 
bated to destruction for their wickedness. He was not 
a Canaanite, but a Jew. The primitive meaning of the 
word is the same as zelotes, involving the conclusicm 



450 Life of Jesus and Ilis Apostles. 

that he was a, zealous, enthusiastic preacher, full of fire, 
lightning and dynamite; i. e., a red-hot holiness crank. 
Historic tradition says he received Insular Euro-pe for 
his field of labor; i. e., England, Ireland, Scotland and 
Wales. In that case, we Americans ought to be moving 
cyclones of celestial fire, having such a spiritual pro- 
genitor, as you know we nearly all came from those 
countries. America is but the expansion of Europe. 
While Paul is the apostle of all Europe and America, 
Simon Zelotes is the specifi;C Anglo-Saxon apos'tle. 
Faithful to his trust and his field of labor, like his com- 
rades in all other lands, dispersed to tiie ends of the 
earth, he fought valiantly till bloody death crowned him 
with the martjT^s wreath and permitted him to exchange 
the hattlefield for the Mount of Victory. 

Thomas^ tiie chronic doubter, sibood at the opposite 
pole of .the battery from Peter, Bie enthusia&t. The lat- 
ter was the quickest, and the former the silowest of all. 
But the fires of Pentecost 'burnt up all the cranky fanat- 
icism of Peter, and lugubrious doubts of Thomas, who 
was as proverbial for looking on the dfark side, as was 
Peter for always showing up the bright side. Thonias 
w^as slow but sure. You find a man who holds back 
with hesitating doubts ; keep your eye on that man; see 
him once get a sunburst from heaven, sweeping away all 
his doubts, and you will find him henceforth filled 
with aggresisive energy, and more than a match for the 
devil. Thomas received India, the largest country in 
the world, for his field of labor. Hisitory says that he 
not only went to it, traveled through and through, 
preaching the gospel, but that he traveled through Per- 
sia and went away to Ethiopia. Some think that Thorn- 



The Apostles. 451 

as was really more abundant in labor than Paul. Final- 
ly bis work in India spread and multiplied so as ix) 
arouse the jealousy of the Brahman priests, who saw 
that Christianity would ruin their religion, consequently 
they pursued him, ran a cruel iron bar through his 
body, and hung him up between two trees. Though the 
Mohammedan wars overran that country and killed 
every Christian that would not turn Mohammedan, yet 
when the missionaries from America and Europe went 
to India two hundred years ago, they found quite a 
gprinkle of people there who called themselves the 
Christians of St. Thomas, certifying that they had been 
in that country ever since the apostle Thomas had 
preached there. 

Matthias wae elected tx) take the place of fallen 
Judas Iscariot (Acta 1). He received Eastern Africa, 
now Abyssinia, as his field of labor, responded promptly, 
went nobly to his work, labored faithfully till bloody 
martyrdom permitted him to join his comrades beyond 
the stars. 

Barnabas was also an apostle, so recognized in the 
Scriptures. He was a native of Cyprus, a large island 
not far from the Asiatic coast. His record is very beau- 
tiful, so far as we have it. He drops out of history 
when he and Paul separated at Antioch, amd we hear no 
more of him. 

Apollos was also an apostle and the sensation of the 
apostolic age for his eloquence. He was a native of Al- 
exandria., Egjrpt, distinguished for his learning, orator- 
ical ability and fluency oJ speech, and believed, as I 
think, -v^dth good reason, to be the author of the Epistle 
to the Hebrews, which is imputed to Paul, but has 



452 Life of Jesus and His Apostles, 

neither his autograph nor his style, wliicl^L is true cf all 
the Pauline Epistles. 

The number twelve throughout the Bible is repre- 
Bentative of God^s children, because they are the multi- 
plication 5f divinity and humanity; four representing 
the latter, as man is lord of the world, which is repre- 
sented by the four cardinal points, North, South, East 
and West; while three represents Divinity, Father, 
Son and Holy Ghost. Hence the pertinency of the 
twelve apostles, the ddspensutional successors of the 
twelve tribes of Israel. While these numtbers have their 
significance in the divine economy, yet there is nothing 
mechanical, rigid and arbitrary in the plan of salvation^ 
where all things are spiritual and pre-eminently free 
and elastic, because homogeneous with the Holy Ghost. 
^^Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty .^^ 

The idea that the apostolic office was restricted to 
the twelve is a mistake, as that would exclude Paxil, 
Barnabas, ApoUos, Mark, Luke and James, the Lord^s 
brother w^ho was even promoted to the episcopacy of the 
mother church. Some who are sticklers for the number 
twelve admit Paul as the legitimate successor of fallen 
Judas Iscariot. This is a mistake as Matthias was duly 
elected to fill that place. He had been with the Lord 
during His entire ministry. He expected the apostle- 
ship vacated by Judas, and received the sanctifying bap- 
tism with the one hundred and twenty. Faithfully he 
w^ent far away to Abyssinia and took great Eastern 
Africa for his field of labor; preached heroically and 
sealed his faith with his blot)d. The entanglement re- 
sults from the effort to confine the apostolate to the 
original twelve, w^hich is unscriptural. The word apos- 



The Apostles. 453 

tie simply -means, one sent forth, i. e., practically a 
pioneer^ as it was the prerogative of these men to 
pioneer th-e gospel in all the earth. The word is not at 
all exclusive, and shouldj not be so construedi. 

David Livingstone became the apostle of the Lord to 
great, dark Africa in 1840, and preached to the savages 
thirty-three years, when Grod took him to heaven, rais- 
ing up Bishop Taylor to succeed him in his apostolic 
office. John Eliott, in the days of the Pilgrim fatheads, 
was very legitimately denominated the Indian apostle, 
accepting God-'s appointment to pioneer the gospel 
among the wild men of this continent. 

APOLOGUE. 

(a.) The vicarious atonement, wrought by the Son 
of God when He died on the cross, gives the pillars of 
ibe great salvation superstructure, girdling the globe 
and containing mansions for all the lost children of 
Adam. 

(b.) Since the constancy of apostasy, Satan has 
made a tremendous effojtio capture the Church through 
a compromise with the world, raising up platoons of 
false prophets in every land. Hence the transcendent 
pertinency of writing the biography of Jesus, and of do- 
ing our utmost to concentrate the attention of all people 
on Him alone, endeavoring thereby to fortify them 
against the constant and diversified intrigues of the ene- 

(c,) Since the Lutheran Eeformation, which broke 
the; chain that bound the world to an intriguing priest- 
hood and liberated the human conscience from that su- 



454 ^. Life of Jesus and His Apostles, 

perstitious awe, which saw in the pope the vicar of 
Christ and the vicegerent of God, there has been a pow- 
erful trend toward indiscriminate schism, developing 
into hundreds and thousands of eectsi and denomina- 
tions, bewildering the people by their constant cries: 
^^Lo, here: this is the way P till millions, dumbfounded 
and perplexed, stand paralyzed with a bewildering am- 
biguity encompassing them with a soul-torturing un- 
certainty. Hence the vital importance of ringing out the 
primitive gospel: "Behold the LaiUib of God whick 
taketh away the sin of the world.^^ In hopes of encour- 
aging the people to study the beautiful character and 
soul-traneforming gospel of Jesus, this commentary has 
been written. 

(d.) There never was an age in all the world^s 
history, when infidelity -was so rife, strategic and ag- 
gressive as at the present da}^; not only in all worldly 
circles, but under the cognomen of Christianity. It ijj 
preached from thousands of pulpits. The preachings 
work, and life of Jesus constitute the only break-water 
against this growing infidelity. 

(e.) WTiile the Holin^esis Movement, either directly 
or indirectly, contains all the true Christians in all 
lands, yet it is terribly assaulted and invaded by all 
sorts of heresies; some preaching water-god, others a 
day-god, and many creed-god's and sect-gods. Thus Sa- 
tan is laying earth and hell under embargo to capture 
the movement aa her predecessors in the revival field. 
The only citadel into which EmmanueFs soldiers can 
fall back and protect themselves is the creed of Chris- 
tendom, "Jesus only.^^ Therefore, in order to contrib- 
ute our little "alF^ to the augmentation of the study and 



The Apostles. 455 

appreciation of the substitutionary atonement, the deep 
latitudinous, longitudinous and altitudinous preaching 
of the spotless, self-denial life, the triumphant resurrec- 
iion and giorious ascension of Jesus, we Vave written 
this book. So now, to the Holiness People in all lands, 
with its eighteen preceding volumes, this book is lov- 
ingly dedicated. Showers of blessings on you all, as 
you read the Life of Jesus and His Apostles. 
(The End.) 




^^~ > 



AUti a 1904 



